|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
TCHS 4O 2000 [4o's nonsense] alvinny [2] - csq - edchong jenming - joseph - law meepok - mingqi - pea pengkian [2] - qwergopot - woof xinghao - zhengyu HCJC 01S60 [understated sixzero] andy - edwin - jack jiaqi - peter - rex serena SAF 21SA khenghui - jiaming - jinrui [2] ritchie - vicknesh - zhenhao Others Lwei [2] - shaowei - website links - Alien Loves Predator BloggerSG Cute Overload! Cyanide and Happiness Daily Bunny Hamleto Hattrick Magic: The Gathering The Onion The Order of the Stick Perry Bible Fellowship PvP Online Soccernet Sluggy Freelance The Students' Sketchpad Talk Rock Talking Cock.com Tom the Dancing Bug Wikipedia Wulffmorgenthaler       |
|
bert's blog v1.21 Powered by glolg Programmed with Perl 5.6.1 on Apache/1.3.27 (Red Hat Linux) best viewed at 1024 x 768 resolution on Internet Explorer 6.0+ or Mozilla Firefox 1.5+ entry views: 2110 today's page views: 204 (15 mobile) all-time page views: 3241397 most viewed entry: 18739 views most commented entry: 14 comments number of entries: 1213 page created Sat Apr 5, 2025 12:21:27 |
|
- tagcloud - academics [70] art [8] changelog [49] current events [36] cute stuff [12] gaming [11] music [8] outings [16] philosophy [10] poetry [4] programming [15] rants [5] reviews [8] sport [37] travel [19] work [3] miscellaneous [75] |
|
- category tags - academics art changelog current events cute stuff gaming miscellaneous music outings philosophy poetry programming rants reviews sport travel work tags in total: 386 |
| ||
|
- travel - + europe grad trip - Because he goes... WATARRR!" - Yes, somebody was feeling lame during the Alhambra visit 4 June  I'm typing this while sitting on a chair and with the netbook on a table for once, so yes, I have only good things to say about our hostel in Madrid, the Students Hostel Luis Velez. Yes, we had to book a four-man room (No. 243) for three, but at about 15 Euros per bed per night, it's well worth it. Another five-hour train journey from Granada to Madrid, the bulk of which I spent sleeping as we got four seats facing each other. Breakfasted on four small lemon cupcakes [1] and played yet more Big 2 when awake. Got back to the Spanish capital at about two in the afternoon, and was surprised to find the elevator instructions in Chinese [2] in addition to Spanish and English. A hint as to their usual clientele? The hostel had no pretensions regarding age unlike our previous one, and the furnishing was unabashedly modern [3] (I like!). It also has light sensors in the corridors, but sadly no electric fans either, a grievous oversight. The Wifi worked as promised, and have I mentioned the table and chair? Not having had a proper lunch, the first order of business was to finally cook some of our instant noodles in the kitchen, where we found just one suitable (if oversized) pot. My duck noodles [4] turned out alright, especially as I now had the freedom to add as much seasoning as I wanted without getting an earful. Settled accounts after that, and it turned out that I had spent only about 300 Euros (not including railpasses and air tickets, but including hostel fees, food and other purchases) in my first ten days in Europe. If it goes on at this rate, I'll be returning home with a lot of cash on hand. We began our ventures by popping down to the nearest Chinese-run grocery store (they're everywhere) and picking up water supplies, while I got a second packet of instant noodles of the same flavour as my remaining one for a possible double helping. With the ever-useful Rick Steves' guide in hand, our next stop was the Plaza Mayor for its tourist information counter. The plaza is today a vast expanse of flat ground, though in the past it had been a park with fountains (presumably removed due to maintenance issues?), and had held such events as bullfights and even executions during the Spanish Inquisition.  Street artists exhibit their waresWent to the Casa Rua bar as suggested by the guidebook, and ordered three bocadillos de calamare (squid sandwich) [5] at 2.25 Euros each. I would have another. We then headed over to the nearby (and very crowded) Puerta del Sol, where alvin took the chance to stand at the symbolic centre of Spain [6]. Continued following the recommended walking tour in the guidebook to the letter, stopping at the Salon La Mallorquina confectionery [7] for more light snacking. Passed by the newly-renovated Mercado de San Miguel (think high-class wet market), and checked out the door of the Monasterio del Corpus Christi [8], where nuns sell dulces (sweets) to the public - some sins are forgivable, after all. Unfortunately, they were long closed for the day. Noticed that the police aren't shy about using their right of way, blaring through red lights more than once, which may have rankled this particular scooter rider:  And give yourself parking ticketsThe cathedral of Almudena and the (outside of the) Palacio Real (Royal Palace) [9, taking in the sights while seated] were next on the list, and not very far away at all. Made it to the Sabatini Gardens [more info] about ten minutes before closing time (nine p.m.), and snapped a few shots before a guard began gesturing for all visitors to leave. Plenty of dogs running about - the Spanish seem to love their canines, which may explain why one beggar was hugging one while taking collections outside the confectionery earlier.  Dog, bear, dogbear? (photo credit: alvin)Wandered briefly into the Plaza Oriente right in front of the palace, before continuing northwards to the Plaza de España, where we could not help but notice couples in the throes of passion everywhere - the Iberian temperament showing through, probably. Or it could be the simple need for warmth, as strong winds lashed about with an air temperature of about 22 degrees. A nice change from Andalusia. Waited till ten for the sun to set further, then walked the Gran Via (also known as the Spanish Broadway) and got a headstart on picking up souvenirs. Not too shabby for half a day in Madrid. Next: Toledo Ho
C.Wenhoo said... eh u put too much seasoning will get testicle shrinkage
gilbert said... oh that is not exactly a concern now
C.wenhoo said... Confucius say, man with hand in pocket feeling cocky all day
gilbert said... but at least he won't get pickpocketed...
C.Wenhoo said... Confucius say man with hole in pocket pick balls
Trackback by great agency
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 Copyright © 2006-2025 GLYS. All Rights Reserved. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
