There was Blood

Madrid is still really hot.

I did finally find my hostel, and I did have to find a taxi to take me to it. So much for being self sufficient.

I got settled in, had a shower and then went downstairs to meet up with the guide from a free walking tour around Madrid.

Madrid is a beautiful city abounding with history, and it's like nothing else I've ever seen. There is, however, the intense heat (picture standing in front of an open oven after baking a batch of cookies.. on a warm day in Canada, and you MIGHT be close to the heat here). At 38 in the shade, it is definitely not for the heat sensitive, and if you are opposed to sweating just from walking down the block, try someplace on the coast. Or Canada.

I sweated it out on the tour and REALLY enjoyed my sangria at the end.

Met up with a South African guy named Johann from my hostel on the tour, and he had suggested taking in a bullfight since Madrid holds them every Sunday at Las Ventas here in Madrid. There was a group of 2 German girls and an Australian guy they'd adopted along the way that were also going, so we tagged along.

I can´t really say I knew A LOT about what a bullfight entailed besides those horrifying 'sports blooper' videos or short clips on Youtube, so it really was a brand new experience for me.

I don't really care to go into detail, but if you decide to go, be prepared to grimace a lot and see a lot of blood. And gore. And death.

It's actually pretty disturbing, and although I'm glad I saw it and can say I've had the experience, I'm almost 100% certain I would never go again.

It's a pretty cruel and vicious sport, but the locals love it like Canadians love hockey. Go figure.

So after I finished watching cocky young Spanish matadors slay their nine ill-fated bulls, I really felt like a drink or 12.

We wandered the streets of Madrid for about an hour and a half at past midnight looking for cheap food and sangria, and had no luck, so Johann and I decided to head back to our hostel, and grab some food locally. We ended up finding a small place with good food and cheap wine, and that was nice.

Sent a package full of memorabilia (oh yes, I have collected a lot of it thus far) from the post office, and am again very proud of myself for navigating a postal outlet in a foreign city in a different language. Especially since I didn't learn this one in high school.

Also got a chance to call mom, and it was really great to hear the dogs squawking in the background. You don't realize how much you really miss those things until you're away.

I'm off to Cordoba and then Seville tomorrow, if things go well.

I tried to get a train reservation for tomorrow, but after standing in line waiting for 2 and a half hours and then realizing when I got called up that I had left my Eurail pass in the locker at the hostel, that was a no go. I got back to the hostel and decided to do laundry, but since the laundry only just became available at midnight, I'm still awake and trying to get it done so I can have clean clothes before I leave at about 8 tomorrow morning. Thus sort of a frustrating day, and I didn´t really do much unfortunately.

Sorry that I'm a little boring tonight. A combination of the heat and lack of sleep is probably to blame. Not the wine.