Traveling around the world, Europe - Madrid pt. 1

I have gotten away from my travel blog a little bit but I am going back and will continue sharing my traveling experiences around the world and places to go and what to see when you get there. I will share my own experiences so you will get first hand experience at what was good and what wasn't. Traveling has been a major part of my life and has molded me into who I am based on my many experiences over seas and abroad. Traveling changes who you are as a person and gives you more understanding of how the world works as well as changes your perspective on many ideas you have. I hope my travel blog will help you on your future trips or influence you to start.

The first location I will focus on is Europe and my time over there. I will occasionally jump around from country to country so as not to focus on just one individual place for too long. Today's post will be of the first city I visited while in Europe and one of my favorites, Madrid.

Madrid, located in Spain, is the capital of the country. It is located in the middle of the country away from all the beaches unlike its sister city in Barcelona. There are many things to do while visiting the city of Madrid and a right time to travel to the city and country. During the year, Madrid is packed with tourists year round however, the majority coming in the summer. During the summer, the local people usually leave the city and head to the beaches to get away from the summer stagnant heat that climbs over 40 C for long periods of time over the summer. If you enjoy the heat then by all means look to visit in the summer, but my own personal experience I would visit late spring or fall when the tourism is down as well as the temperature being more moderate.

One of the things to note while visiting Madrid is the nightlife culture. While most European cities shut down during the evening and shops and restaurants close around 9, Madrid stays awake and restaurants and shops are open late into the night. It was an experience heading to dinner around 11pm one night and going to a bar/restaurant that late and still seeing crowds of people wandering the streets.

The restaurant and food scene in Spain is fantastic but my favorite places to eat wasn't necessarily restaurants but bars. Bars are extremely common in Spain, you can find one every block it seems. People love to drink there and you can order many things from the bars other than just beer (Cerveza). One of the most popular of the Spanish foods is called the Tapas, which are small sandwiches that come in many different styles. Depending on where you go the prices are very reasonable with a pint of beer being around 1-3 Euro and tapas around the same.

My favorite place to eat and hangout in Madrid would be 100 Montaditos. This restaurant/bar has two days, Sunday and Wednesday where the entire day acts as a happy hour. All tapas are 1 Euro while beer/wine/clara are 1.5 Euro. A clara is a Spanish beer mixed with lemonade and acts as a summer drink that is great during the summer heat. While the restaurant offers great value, the food is alright but the atmosphere is amazing and I often times would stay for hours socializing and enjoying the food and drinks.

One thing I would like to warn you about while enjoying the food and restaurants around the city are the beggars. One story that happened to me made me be aware of everything around me while I eat as people are fearless and my girlfriend almost lost her phone. There are many beggars on the streets in Madrid, the majority of them being Romanians or Gypsies. There is a lot of hate towards these people in large part due to their illicit activities they commit to others.

While sitting at dinner at a restaurant I was enjoying my time and talking with my girlfriend. After an hour or so at the restaurant, a woman walked up to the table holding a menu and put it down on the table and starting asking for food. Now being an English speaker first and having alright Spanish speaking abilities, I did not pick up everything that the woman was saying but she was asking for food. We shrugged her off and she left. That was the biggest signal to me as the people who beg do not leave easily and oftentimes have to be thrown out by the waiters and workers of the establishment. After seeing this woman leave after a brief conversation I felt something weird and didn't feel right. I then noticed the phone that was sitting on the table was gone and chased after the woman who had asked for food. I caught her just as she was walking around a corner alley and grabbed the menu she was holding in her hand and sure enough felt a phone in-between the menu. Luckily I caught this one and was able to retrieve the phone but this happens a lot and these people are good at what they do. Just make sure to keep your valuables on your body and to be watchful and weary of others.

I hope you enjoyed the post on Madrid. I will do more focusing on entertainment, shopping and other highlights to the city in future posts.