Madrid: rocky arrivals and perfect endings.
I arrived in Madrid on Dec 19, 2007 at 3 am. The first question was: Do I pay a cab to get to the hostel or do I wait for the metro to start operating at 6am? I decided to get to the hostel. I had to crash on a couch until 8 am in the common area of Cat's hostel so I would not have to pay for the night, I had a budget to keep. Cat's hostel is a restored Arab home with beautifully intricate geometric designed walls with a fountain in the middle of the courtyard. After getting my bed in the dorm, I stepped out of the hostel and it was raining. I headed to the Prado museum trying to stay dry. I prayed for better weather. Once inside the museum, Velazquez and Goya, along with the best of 16th - 17th century art, were represented in a display of baroque and religious art unparalleled anywhere in the world. The best thing about the Prado was that I got in for free with my international teacher card :-) My friends had to pay 9 euros. By the time we walked out the rain had stopped. We...