DAY 24 - This is it.

It all started pretty much like a normal day. I got up at a normal time, had breakfast, packed my things (that doesn't take long) and got my ass out of there. I'd be back in the afternoon, however, to listen to the progress of the Brewers in their first ever match in league football.

I really couldn't think of anything to do, and my 3-day pass on the Metro ran out before the 3 days had finished, which pissed me off enough to throw it in the bin there and then. That was the previous night, and I'm thinking now if it was just a faulty machine. I didn't really want to pay for the Metro again since I had nowhere to go except the airport.

I spent most of my time wandering the streets in a daze. It's hard to believe that my epic journey is over, but after spending nearly £2,000 (flights, accommodation, spending money, everything), I think my bank account needs a rest. For a year at least.

So I eventually grabbed the nearest Metro and whizzed off to the airport to check in. I thought I'd be tired with travelling so late, but I didn't feel too bad, initially. I thought that 24 days of backbreaking sightseeing would be the end of me, but I felt pretty fresh, surprisingly. Unsurprisingly, there was a lengthy delay, first in just getting people on the plane, then air traffic control wouldn't let us turn on our engines. What? Anyway, eventually I arrived on British soil, feeling a lot more tired than I was. My dad met me at the airport, and we made the late, late journey home.

That's it. As soon as something else interesting happens, I'll report, but frankly, I'm a bit blogged out now...

DAY 23 - I'm already running out of ideas. Weird.

I saw all the essential stuff already, now I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel a bit. That's perhaps a little harsh on the things I did on this day, but still. My preparations for what to see in Madrid had been much quicker than the other cities, so I didn't really have much idea about what to see. Nevertheless, I formulated a little plan and set off pretty late.

First stop was somewhere that I was taking a chance on: the Estadio Vicente Calderón, home of Atletico Madrid. I'd wanted to go to both Madrid stadiums, but the internet didn't reveal any info about a museum or a tour, but I went regardless, just in case.





In the event, there was both. This is part of the museum. Never quite understood what this bit was all about, really.







A load of balls.








There was a film, too, but it was just clips of Atleti with a soundtrack, so not too interesting. Now to begin the tour. In the concourse is this wall where people write about how great the team is and that.





Woo, the stadium.








It looks very small...








...but can seat 55,000 apparently. Remarkable. Not much rain cover, though. But it doesn't rain much in Madrid.







In this corner, there is apparently always some flowers to commemorate Atleti winning the league and cup double years ago. Check it out on TV, you might see it.






This 'Marca' logo is around where the dugout is. I think Marca is a newspaper that sponsors the team.







This is the away bench. The home one is virtually the same but a little nicer - plus, these seats were very dirty when I got there.







The press room. So maybe they all have them after all.








Dressing room, with slogans on the wall such as "55,000 reasons to win". You work it out.







More of the dressing room. Comfy.








The spacious VIP lounge, with some of their great moments on the wall above, plus a list of trophies on the right (9 leagues, 9 cups, plus a few other things).






Possibly their most famous son, and someone they're obviously still very proud of, as he started with the club aged 10. I made the lack of info about the tour clear to the lovely guide we had, and she said she'd inform her boss about it. Let's hope so, as I'm sure other football fans visiting Madrid would like to visit. And it's cheaper than the Bernabeu tour...







Moving on, I went to the plaza where a statue of Christopher Columbus is, the Plaza de Colón. This is the Torres Colón. Maybe now you can figure out what Fernando's surname means in English.









Mr Colón himself.











And I've seen some big flags on my travels... but that's got to be the biggest. It's huge. I made sure to get a couple of people in the pic to give you the idea of how big it is.









The tower again.











The Biblioteca Nacional. I asked if I could come in. She said no. But there's a free museum. So I went there instead.







Is it just me who thinks this thing looks precarious? Hmm.











Another free museum, woo! The Museo Arqueologico Nacional (I really don't need to translate these names, do I?). It was a bit small, but for free you can't complain. Not bad.






I then made the trek back home to take in a few sights. You may remember the Puerta de Alcalá. Well, the lighting's a bit better, so I took this pic from the other side.






The Edificio Metrópolis. Yep.











A big cheese-shaped building. I'll let you read it.








I really couldn't be bothered looking for much else, so I went to the hostel and relaxed for a while. I headed out in the evening to an Irish pub to watch the first match of the new Championship season, and was thoroughly bored by it. Had a curry, though, which was nice.

On my way back to the hostel, I stumbled across the pub crawl people. This particular crawl starts every night near the hostel, but I couldn't be bothered the last two nights. I changed my mind this time. So off I went with all the drunken people, but I'm not the party-hard type normally, and when I'm on my own even less so.

When 3am rolled around, after several bars and not too much to drink, I called it a day as I had to check out by 11am. Final day remaining, and with even less stuff to do, plus a backpack to carry around for hours, I'm sure it'll be an eventful day. Yeah.

DAY 22 - Olé! It's a big, tiring, culture-filled day, but worth it in the end.

After my introduction to Madrid the day before, now it was time to really go for it. I wanted to take on the major things that one must see in Madrid - or, at least, the stuff that I think seems quite important. After a light breakfast, I set off at around 10.30am.

My first stop was the place that I'm sure you're already familiar with: Las Ventas. I knew they only did tours in the morning, so I headed there first, and sure enough, I got on the 11am tour. This statue is outside the stadium.





Here's the entrance to the stadium.











A closer look at the poster on the right. The first bullfight in this stadium, I think.










A very important bullfighter.








On the way in, through the concourses.








Woo. Here it is. It's a shame I couldn't be here on Sunday to see the real deal, but this'll have to do.







The third biggest in the world, apparently.








You can fit 24,000.








Ooh, now onto the field itself.








Toro! Toro!








And this is where they run around, I think. I don't know.








Finally, horses stay here. There was a museum, too. All in all a charming place to see, even if bulls get killed all the time.







Next up, the Museo de América, about, well, you know. Not the States, obviously. Before it, this is the Arco de la Victoria.










And here's a dirty-looking pool leading up to it.








No pics in or around the building (it was an okayish museum, but all in Spanish) but this thing... no, I don't know.










Okay, one pic. Like any good museum, it has this little area in the middle.







I then went off to the Royal Theatre. Don't know if you can have a tour or anything, so I just took this picture.







From there it's a short walk to the palace.








That's not it, that's the back of the theatre (I think).








There's some gardens in front, and behind too.








Big palace.








Around the gardens in front.








Charming.








Did you have to ask? No, I couldn't be bothered.








This is next to the palace. Not sure what it is...








Anyway, moving on... here's the, um, something, when you get off at the Banco de Espana stop.







And a fountain nearby.








Another fountain... this is on the Paseo del Prado.








Horrible photo of the Thyssen museum, the first of three museums I'd visit. Not bad, but nothing special.







On the way to museum number two.








This is the Prado museum, which is big, and I had difficulty finding the entrance. It's not exactly the Louvre, but pretty big.







Finally, the third museum, the Reina Sofia, is in this square.








There it is.








And that's... oh, just read it.








The Reina Sofia's claim to fame is Guernica, which has a room to itself, with two cameras and two people guarding it. Plus an exclusion zone on the floor.






It has a terrace, with some weird stuff.








And this. Hmm.








You get a good view from the glass elevators, too. I think it was the biggest, and probably the one I preferred, but it's full of modern art stuff, so take your pick.






After all this museum stuff I was exhausted, so I just went back to the hostel and rested. I've almost run out of stuff to do in Madrid, as crazy as it sounds. We'll just see what happens in the final chapters.