El Rastro

It was fun to sit at a bar with lots of local futbol fans. There were some other tourists at the spot we picked, but not too many. It was a place where every beer you ordered you got a free tapa which was nice. One thing I didn't realize until I got here, most if not all tapas are served on a piece of bread. The game itself was rather boring, tied 1-1, but it was fun to watch a Madrid game in Madrid.

On the walk home I went through prostitute central. It's a hopping pedestrian shopping street during the day and a busy walking thoroughfare at night, and the prostitutes just kind of pace back and forth through the crowds. There seemed to be no "turfs" that I could tell. I think the most shocking part for me was that a patron couldn't drive and pick them up. They have to be on foot to take advantage of their services. I looked up and sure enough there were lots of motels above the shops.

Sunday morning I got up bright & early and walked to El Rastro. It was fun to walk around and am sure glad I got there early. By the time I left at 11am it was getting a bit frustrating to maneuver through the crowds. As my dad would say, it was a mob scene. They have everything you could possibly imagine for sale - from new & used clothes, jewelry, books, trinkets, antiques, art, plants, car parts, and pretty much everything else you would think they'd have at an outdoor flea market that takes up several blocks. There were police everywhere which I imagine is because both guidebooks mentioned that it is a famous feeding ground for pickpockets.

I went over to a little old woman who was selling her original artwork that is painted on little pieces of cardboard. Her name was Alegria which suits her well. She talked and talked about so many things. I feel like she gave me her life story, and I understood about 60% of it. Other Spanish tourists asked her if she had any artwork of Madrid. I loved her reply - she said that she paints scenes of where she is from (Toledo) and while she knows that scenes of Madrid would sell more, she paints from her heart which is in Toledo.

I had my backpack on my back and Alegria proceeded to demonstrate how the pickpockets would rob me. I assured her that my zipper was not accessible when my backpack was on. She chuckled and said "oh honey, they won't use your zipper", picked up her knife and showed me how they'd cut open my bag. She then took my bag off my back and made me wear it in front of me. And told me to tell all my friends to do the same. She worries about us just like she worries about her own grandchildren. After I bought one of her paintings (which I like but also felt the need to buy because she was so sweet, I wanted to support her, and have a reminder of her and the experience in my apartment), she asked a fellow tourist if they'd take a photo of us. Once I put my camera back into my pocket she shook her finger at me "no, no" and showed me how they'd grab my arm and force themselves in my pocket. She also told me never to have my hands in my pocket as it implies that I have something of value inside. I asked her what if I was just cold. She said she doesn't care, never keep your hands in your pockets. She was so fun to chat with I had a hard time leaving to wander to the other vendors.

On my walk back the Madrid Marathon had started, was cool to walk by the runners the whole way back to my hostel.

Then I checked into hostel #3 - Mad Hostel. It's my least favorite of the three. The rooms are claustrophobic. I can barely stand between my bed and the one next to me. I got the top bunk this time which is never fun. In the last two hostels I had my own bed (no bunk). There is no floor space to put my bag to get into it etc. I just threw my bag in the locker and left.

Being so close to the Parque del Retiro I decided to head there for a bit of sunshine and grass time. I came across the marathon again over there, apparently it was a 10k.

I then did the third neighborhood walk in my guidebook - La Latina & Lavapies. This hostel is in Lavapies. La Latina is known for it's tapas and they are both known for being the more ethnic neighborhoods. Supposedly 60% of the residents were not born in Spain. The neighborhoods feel a bit safe with character, similar to my hood in San Francisco. There are definitely less tourists over here which is nice, but I don't appreciate the attention that I've been getting. Will definitely do less wandering in this hood at night (Corey did mention to be careful here as well, so it's not just my gut). I outdid myself a bit with the walking around so came back home to get horizontal for a bit. Four hours later (at 10pm) I woke up and went to dinner. There are lots of Indian restaurants right down the street, and I went to one that my guidebook recommended. It was nice to sit outside amd people watch under an almost full moon.

P.S. It would appear that a version of hammer pants are coming back into style. Similar to skinny jeans, you will never catch me in a pair of those.

I also can't get used to saying Gracias with a "thee", like Gra-thee-as.