Portunol

After my siesta yesterday I decided to go on one of the neighborhood walks in my guidebook. It's similar to the city walks I do in San Francisco - basically a route is set for you with info of sights along the way. A great way to see the less touristy locations. This walk was called Santa Ana: Barrio de las Letras. The hood is apparently the most bohemian one in Madrid. Walked by where Cervantes house used to be, the Teatro Espanol, a Basilica, a famous convent, and 9 other sites less cool to mention.

Afterwards I came back to the hostel and went out on the town with one of my roommates, a very cute Aussie named Andrew. He's been travelling for 10 months! He took me to El Tigre, a hopping joint that when you order a drink they bring you a plate full of tapas for free. It was on my list of places to check out so that was cool. He was pretty stoked when I told him he could have all the meat tapas. Luckily there were a few options for me as well. Although I'm pretty sure I accidentally ate something meaty. I survived.

After a few beers there we wandered to another spot and shared a pitcher of sangria and a delicious tapa of brie cheese and jam on bread. Sat outside and enjoyed great people watching. To round out the evening we went to Plaza Santa Ana (which I recognized I had been to earlier on my walk) and had a beer. Once the venue was ready to close down they gave everyone plastic cups, so we walked back to our hostel beer in hand.

It was a fun night, got in at 2am. Probably will be one of my latest nights out, unless I'm with a hostel friend. Andrew is leaving tonight for Peru (sigh).

When walking around it doesn't feel like I'm surrounded by other tourists which is nice, and very few people speak English. My Portunol (blend of Portuguese & Espanol) seems to be working out nicely. However, I rarely understand the reply because they speak too quickly.

Other than that very chilly first morning here, the weather has been perfect. Not too hot and not too cold. Perfectly pleasant.

This morning I had breakfast with Andrew near the Plaza de la Puerta del Sol. Then I went on the second neighborhood walk of the Chueca & Malasana neighborhoods which are famous for their shopping and nightlife. Chueca is the gay district and Malasana has more of an alternative/grunge crowd. So says the guidebook.

In one of the little parks I finished my first novel and people watched. I'll donate my book to the hostel, and I already acquired another one that Andrew gave me. Madrid is full of dogs, it seems that most of the locals walking around have a dog in tow. As I was reading I heard a collar/leash sound and a snort. I assumed it was a dog with a nasal issue, but once I looked up it was most definitely a little black pig with a bright pink harness and collar. Very cute and interesting to watch the pig interact with dogs. But once one of the dogs started barking at her very loudly she freaked out and started squealing until her owner picked her up. Was pretty funny.

In a few hours I'm meeting up with Corey, one of my cousin Mike's friends who lives here. Looking forward to some drinks, tapas, and finding out more local sites that he thinks I should check out. While I dig guidebook suggestions, I also want to make sure I do things a bit off the beaten path.