My first day in Madrid was nothing short of magical.

I hopped off the plane at about 7:15am after tossing and turning on my 7.5 hour flight. I was excited and ready to go. Once I got through customs (which was really fast), I immediately bought a worldwide SIM card. It was a $136 mistake, which I will explain in one of my next posts. I got my luggage and quickly followed the directions to the Metra, which took me directly to the city.

Once I found my spot, I was able to use satellites (without being connected online), in order to find where my hostel was. I was walking behind a girl with luggage and we both approached the same building on a small side street in Madrid. Las Musas was not only my first destination, but also my very first time staying in a hostel.

I decided to book the cheapest room available to see what it was all about and really get a feel for a hostel, so I booked a 6 woman room.

Due to the fact that I had gotten in so early, I had to store my luggage and wait. I was told I could go in a shower and get ready for the day before the 2:30pm check in. I decided to do that, and also decided to go on the 11:15am 2-hour walking tour provided by the hostel (for free!). I showered in a bathroom which had 3 stalls with toilets, 3 shower stalls and one large mirror. It was a little narrow, but what I had expected. It was clean and set up really similar to university dorms in the U.S.

After a quick shower (which signs said was limited to 5 minutes), I went to the main lobby area to have breakfast. Only packed muffins were provided (along with coffee), but it was great to have a small snack before heading out. I sat alone and people-watched for about 3 minutes until the girl who had walked in seconds before me sat down across from me. “Where are you from?” I asked. She told me she was from Chile. We quickly became friends and bonded over travel. She explained that she had been studying English in Cambridge at EF University for 2 months. She knew some English but did not know how to write. In those months she did some traveling, and now, after having completed the course, she was spending 2 months traveling Europe and had just come from Spain.

I began to tell her about my travels as well, spending 3 months traveling the globe.

Fran and I.

We got along great and within 15 minutes made plans for the next day. At 11:30 the tour group was ready, and about 10 or so people from the hostel gathered outside Las Musas to begin the walking tour. We walked through the streets of Madrid, stopping at two other sister hostels to pick up other travelers who were also interested in the walking tour. As we began to walk to our first destination, Fran, my new friend, and I began to chat with other travelers. We met other young travelers from the states, Mexico, and Canada. Hearing their travel stories was interesting too. One girl decided to travel because she was getting ready for medical school so her and her sister decided to spend a month abroad. Another guy had just accepted a job that started in September, so he decided to take 2 months and see Europe for the first time. Another guy had been studying in Germany and decided to travel when he had free time. Everyone had his or her own story about traveling and everyone wanted to hear mine. Everyone I spoke with was surprised to hear that I was traveling on my own for 3 months. They supported me and wanted to know where I was going and my reasons for doing the journey. It was fun to share, and I, of course, shared information about my blog.

We spent 2 hours walking throughout Madrid and hearing the history behind the city, the buildings, and the culture. Our tour guide, who worked at the hostel, was incredibly informative, was funny and did not hold back on her negative attitude toward the French. All in all, it was a great tour.

Plaza Mayor Madrid

The Royal Palace, Madrid

At the end of the tour, she told us that she would take us to an area and show us a few spots for lunch. She also invited us to go with her to a place she liked which had 3 courses and sangria for 13 euros. Fran and two of our new friends, decided to join. 2 large glasses of the best sangria I’ve ever had later, I was exhausted. Fran and I decided to check into our hostel (since we were not able to before) and nap.

I got my stored luggage and went to the 3^rd floor, where my room was. I was nervous because I did not know what to expect and I was not sure what temporarily living with 5 other strangers from around the world would be like. I walked in my room, which was more spacious than I imagined, and was greeted by 5 girls.

The rooms were nice, clean, and they had large beautiful European floor to ceiling windows, that opened and looked out into the small street.

It felt as if we were living right in the heart of Madrid. The room was hot, due to lack of air conditioning, but sunlight flooded in, making it rather enjoyable.

Typical narrow street in Madrid with restaurants and walking paths.

I met the roommates that were in the room, one from Israel, two from California, one from France and one from Australia. They were friendly, chatty, and in great spirits. They too had some great travel stories. They had all been traveling for some time, and I got to share, again, what my journey looked like. They suggested some cities that were “must-see’s”, and discussed the people they had met along the way. Two of the girls were getting ready to leave for some sangria (it was about 4pm at this point) and they had invited me along, but I declined due to jet lag. I quickly put my ear plugs in, stuck on my sleep mask, laid on top of my sheets on the bottom bunk and slept for 2 hours.

When I woke up, I was hot, felt a million times better and was ready to do some more exploring. I reached out to Fran who told me she was sitting in the lobby. When I got downstairs, she introduced me to a man she was talking to, named Rodrigo. Rodrigo was from Argentina and only knew a few words of English. On top of that, because Argentinians have a different dialect, it was difficult for me to understand a lot of what he was saying, so Fran became a translator. We decided, the three of us, to head to the north part of the city, which we were told was the “hipster” area. We took the Metro and were there in just a couple of minutes.

When we got off, we were greeted by tattoos, piercings, colored hair and graffiti art.

Graffiti art in Madrid.

It was great. We walked around, did some people watching, and eventually decided to grab a bottle of Spanish wine and head to Templo de Debod (park of Oeste park) see what was left of the sunset. By the time we got there, the sun was almost down, but the park was beautiful and it was busy. There was a drum circle and lots of people sitting on the grass and enjoying the perfect weather. After taking some pictures and finishing the wine, we decided to head back to our hostel because there was an organized pub-crawl that evening.

Fran, myself & Rodrigo (who has his eyes closed!) in Parque del Oeste Madrid.

Delicious local Spanish wine.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that we were tourists that were serious about capturing everything cool in sight, we made it back to the hotel about 30 minutes after the pub-crawl had started. We then decided to freshen up quick and go out on our own, so we headed toward one of the main squares near our hostel, Las Musas. Upon getting there, we were bombarded with promoters from the different bars and nightclubs in Madrid, attempting to make money off tourists. During the bombardment, we ran into two girls from our hostel, two roommates of mine – Kelly and Paula. They were trying to get in touch with a couple of other girls from the hostel but were not able to reach them. They decided to come with us. And then there were four.

We finally settled on a very small nightclub called Smile, a place that one of the hostel receptionists told us to go. For 6 Euros, we were each given two shots, a glass of sangria and a choice of a mixed drink. The Spaniards really like to drink and have a good time.

It was around midnight and the club was dead, but we stayed, drank our drinks and chatted for a while. I learned about Kelly and Paula – both of whom were from California. They were both traveling for about a month and had some crossover. Paula had been studying in Europe and had just finished, so she decided to take the time to explore the rest of Europe. Kelly decided to do some exploring as well, and since they were friends from California, they decided to link up in Madrid. Both were awesome girls, super friendly, and full of stories and recommendations.

After about an hour, we decided to leave and head to another bar. Upon leaving, we were approached by about 3-4 other promoters trying to lure us in their nightclub, which they claimed was the best, with the best drinks.

Deciding to be responsible, we all decided it was in our best interest to head back home so that we could wake up early and enjoy the day. On our way home, we all were distracted by the delicious smell of hot churros. We decided to make a pit stop and load up on some sugary deliciousness. After consuming roughly 50 grams of sugar (worth it), we headed back.

Laura, Kelly and I went to our room where our roommates were all getting ready for bed. By this time, it was about 2am. The room was hot, so we opened some windows and went to bed.

Day one may not have sounded exciting, but it was. Being in Spain for the first time was amazing. The architecture was beautiful, the food was delicious, and knowing that this is the beginning of my journey made everything that much better.

Day 2 in Madrid was great also. Stay tuned for the next post! XO

More graffiti art in Madrid.