DAY 21 - Off again, to sunny, sunny Spain. The end is nigh.

I seldom like getting up at 6am, so I wasn't too keen on doing it on this day of all days. Having said that, leaving a city early is a good thing, because at least you get plenty of time to do stuff in the next city. So I jumped out of bed, had a quick shower, checked out, and rushed off to catch the surprisingly cheap bus to the airport (a different airport to the one I came in on).

I didn't have chance for breakfast, of course, so I was glad to see a Mr Panino at the airport. It's a simple sandwich takeaway place, but you get fries with your sandwich for some reason. Incidentally, the way the English use 'panini' is moronic: 'panini' is the plural form of 'panino', which just appears to mean 'sandwich', whether it be a McDonald's hamburger, a Subway-type sandwich or the thing that we call 'panini' in English. Whoever coined the term surely didn't have an idea about Italian grammar, and I barely do at all.

But I digress. I flew out with no complications to Madrid Airport, and after walking for what seemed like forever, reached the Metro station at the airport. I was very happy that Madrid's airport is connected to the Metro, so you can go anywhere in the city (it's an extensive Metro) for a very small price, compared to the ripoff coaches you often get.

I checked into my hostel and after a bit of consulting my laptop, decided to get moving. Is Madrid hot? Well, when I first ventured out at around 3pm, it felt like standing underneith one of those heaters in the doorway of shops. All the time. It's like hot air is blowing on you all the time. Did I sweat? Oddly enough, no. It's very dry heat, so even though you feel the hot air on you the whole time, it doesn't feel sweaty, like the humid conditions I had in Italy. So, despite the high temperature, I felt okay with it. Probably not a great idea to stay in the sun all day, but it's quite pleasant, really.

This is the Puerta del Sol, I believe. Sadly under construction.








Since I'd just arrived and had pretty much a half day to see as much as possible, I went for the one thing I knew I wanted to see: Real Madrid's stadium. I took the Metro right there, but the first thing I saw was this building, so I took a picture. It's big, isn't it?








Then again, so's this.








Named after that guy.








In the lift going up...








Wooo. Even though we're standing around where the cheap seats are, you still get an excellent view on the pitch, which for an 80,000 seater stadium is quite an achievement.






The seats are pretty steep, as a result.








And there are lots of them.








Aah.








Into the museum. There were a load of these pictures. I snapped them all, but they're boring.







Welcome to the beginning of a rather large museum.








The lights messed up my camera.








They have lots of trophies.








But most of them are pretty pointless.








And that's just silly.








That's more like it: their last league championship trophy.











And even a big model of the stadium.








So many players...








It was tough to get all nine European Cups in at once.








Also there was a temporary exhibition on the guy that the stadium is named after. Meh. I didn't pay it much heed.







Back outside, to get down near the pitch.








It's a lovely stadium, I have to admit.








And fun to be next to the pitch.








These bench seats are obviously rather comfortable, but holy crap, I couldn't touch one for more than a second: in this weather the temperature must've reached 100 degrees on those things. The sign gleefully notes the seats have heating. In Madrid? Why?





Saw this on the floor, going into the dressing rooms.








Rather plain.








But they have a jacuzzi.








The stadium has a press room. Not sure every stadium does, so it's fun to see.







The view from the stage. Overall the tour was worth it, certainly more to it than the San Siro tour (though it cost a little more).







Next stop: Las Ventas. This is the bullfighting ring. What I didn't know is that there are tours in the mornings. You'll have to wait for that, then, as I went back there the following day.






I did, however, look for dinner in nearby restaurants, and unsurprisingly the effect of the bullfighting on the local area is quite strong.






For the art lovers out there, here's my diptych, entitled "Madrid: WTF?"
















So, I thought I'd while away the few remaining hours in the Parque del Buen Retiro, a large park that is frequented by many joggers, rollerbladers and people just having a sit down. This is the Puerta de Alcalá, which is next to it.





And here's the park.








Flowers.








More flowers.








Er... no idea. Really.











Fountain?








Ah, a big pool of water where you can get a boat and have a ride about. Seemed mainly to be kids using it. And ducks.







Big thing next to water.








Ooh, that pic didn't turn out too well.








That's alright, though.











And so it goes on.








Another shoddy shot, but chiefly because of the sun.








Another fountain.








And yet another. It was by this time that I decided to find the exit.








I think that's the station. Big.








Read the building. Looks imposing.








From there, I took the Metro back home. I was very thirsty when I returned (I've been getting incredibly thirsty the whole time here) so I bought a big bottle of juice-like stuff. When I glugged down half the bottle, I started to feel a little off. Now, it occurred to me that about 3 hours earlier, I went into a place for dinner and the guy there recommended a pork dish they had. I must admit, he wasn't wrong: it was absolutely delicious. However, I think some of the pork was a little on the pinkish
side, but my brain pretended it was beef and tucked in.

Of course, after I drank the juice 3 hours later, this went through my mind, and I went to the toilet and chucked my guts up. Immediately I felt fine, but even though it was only after drinking a large quantity of juice that I felt bad, I have a feeling that it was actually food poisoning from the undercooked pork that did it. I know that many people will always tell you not to go for fast food, but I've had a lot of it on this trip, and one of the few times when I get a 'proper' meal, I get food poisoning for the first time. Be careful out there, kids. Or just avoid pork (even if it really was very tasty).

So, there you have it. I'm actually writing this at the end of my second Madrid day, but I haven't written that one yet. Better wait a little. Not long.