Solamente en Madrid

     This past weekend I had an open weekend to do whatever I'd like. I told myself I wanted to travel somewhere but I didn't quite know where. Many students went to Budapest, few went to Paris, and only a couple went to Amsterdam. I chose Madrid. Turns out one of my best friends has been doing a study abroad program for six months and was still living there, or so I thought. Just my luck two days before I boarded my plane to Madrid, Sean emailed me back informing me of another trip he was doing that weekend in another European country. My flight was booked, bag was packed and I was ready to make the most of it. Check out more of my epic adventure after the jump:
#Solotrip

     I booked a flight for 60€ round trip and planned to find a hostel once I arrived. I did some homework on how to get from the Madrid airport to city center. Get this - The airport bus dropped me in the heart of Madrid and with my earphones in and positive spirit in full force I stepped off the bus ready for an adventure. No joke within 20 minutes of aimlessly walking the prominent streets of Madrid, I ran into these guys:

     I asked baldy here what they were doing and he rambled on in Spanish about some skateboarding club for old guys. They were nice enough to ask if I wanted to join and I didn't think twice. This was no club for old dudes with bad knees and stained backs, these guys were the real deal. Picture at least 25-30 of us cruising down the main streets of Madrid with cars blaring their horns because traffic was forced to slow. The whole time epic Spanish words were yelled between all of us, I think I even made a few up to holler back at the crew. Needless to say I had a huge smile on my face and kept telling myself this was meant to be. After we finished our downhill escapade, it was time for a beer. What seemed to be the underground railroad I ended up here:

     Couldn't tell you how I got there or where I was but I was happy. I looked around and noticed I was at a real Spanish kickback. No shoobies, no rules, plenty of beer, one go-pro, and all locals... epic. 

 

↓The so called KE+DA Punk Rock band made an appearance during the midst of all the fun. Apparently they are pretty popular in Madrid but when I looked them up these guys didn't look anything like the real band, close enough. Punk is not really my style but considering the circumstances I was along for the ride and quite the experience it turned out to be.

After finding a hostel near Placa del Sol (center of city) I went to bed pretty early knowing I had a bid day ahead of me. Below was one of my first stops on my solo walking tour - Palacio Real de Madrid. This is the residence of the Spanish Royal Family however King Juan Carlos doens't actually live here because it is a little over the top so him and his family choose a more modest place on the outskirts of town. Palacio Real is only used for state ceremonies↓

↓This is a picture of the, aerial branch of the Spanish Armed Forces - Ejercito Del Aire↓

↓I asked to take a picture of this guy and he was in the middle of telling me NO... So I took one anyways↓

↓My next stop was to the capital building of Madrid, In Spain they called this building Ayuntamiento - City Hall↓

↓After eating tapas for lunch, I wandered into Parque del Retiro for a quick afternoon siesta... a little slack lining too, Boulder style of course↓ 

               

↓And now for the most epic part of my solo journey through Madrid... Plaza de Toros Las Ventas↓

That's right BULLFIGHTING. Turns out the sport of bullfighting is banned in Barcelona and almost all over the world. Not in Madrid! I bought the cheapest tickets possible (4€) which put me up in the nose bleed section. That didn't last long until I "swined" my way south for a better seat↓ 

The whole process starts with the "banderillero" (bull fighter) on his horse galloping around pumping up the crowd. For real this time, this was NO JOKE. People were going crazy. Both locals and tourists came from all over to experience this fiasco and very few were disappointed. This is no sport for little children... The bull gets let loose and ultimately very upset with unique looking toreadors waving red capes around. The "picador" then comes out on horseback and proceeds to stab the bull in it's spine... at least five times.

                                    

This is so the bull becomes weak and its head stays low. For the final KO punch, the "matador" rides into the arena with the final pass to kill the bull. I was lucky enough to see the matador actually get off his horse and kill the bull with a small blade. It was if Spain had won the world cup in overtime, crowd went wild. What happens next? A chariot driven by two other horses drags the bull out of the arena. Thanks for playing.