Paranoid and Feeling Unsafe in Madrid
Posted by ScarlettMar 19th, 2009 | 1 CommentBeing our last day in Madrid, we set out today to see the last major sight we haven’t visited - the Palacio Real (Royal Palace). Our morning was off to a late start since we had to move to our new dorm room for this evening (which thankfully will be the last night we stay in this dreadful hostel) and we needed to find somewhere with Internet so that Paul could do some work since the guy at reception needed us to vacate the common areas so that he could do the “cleaning” (honestly I seem to see the exact same messes when we return in the afternoon so I don’t think they clean at all). 
Yay! Found Some Good Tapas!
Posted by ScarlettMar 18th, 2009 | No Comments
Ok, finally, we’ve found some food that made us go wow!
Visit to Real Madrid’s Home Turf
Posted by ScarlettMar 18th, 2009 | No Comments
Since our schedule today probably won’t time out right for us to catch a football game (soccer in North America), we decided to do a tour of Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. It was either tour this stadium or the one for Manchester United, and the Santiago Bernabeau Stadium tour got better reviews online so we decided to just go for it.
Dinner Experience #1 in Madrid
Posted by ScarlettMar 17th, 2009 | 3 Comments
Tonight we tried to find some good tapas, but after wandering around 3 blocks, we decided we would give up trying to understand tapas menus/bars and just picked a place that had a “menu del dia” that was translated into English and looked pretty decent.
Spain Is Prettier Than Portugal But Not As Friendly…
Posted by ScarlettMar 17th, 2009 | No Comments
After a day of wandering around in Madrid, we’ve come to the conclusion that Madrid is definitely beautiful and a more well-kept city than Lisbon or Porto, but the people here seem cold, snobby, and completely unwilling to help if you don’t speak Spanish! Even the girl at the McDonald’s counter wouldn’t acknowledge my attempt to order a Quarter Pounder with cheese until I made a mangled attempt to pronounce it in Spanish (which FYI is Cuarto di Libra) and I ended up eating my McNuggets with BBQ sauce because I had no clue how to say Sweet-And-Sour in Spanish (editor’s note: Maybe she’s originally from France?) 
Barbieri Hostel in Madrid – Who The Hell Gave This Place Good Reviews?!?!
Posted by ScarlettMar 16th, 2009 | No Comments
At the beginning of our planning, we used hostels.com to book four hostels – one in Lisbon, one in Porto, one in Madrid, and one in Barcelona – we based our decisions on which hostel had the best reviews on this website. While looking into Montpellier France, we realized that two people who can share one bed can book a budget hotel room for basically the same price as a hostel since hostels always charge per person/per bed! Up until now, the hostels have been pretty awesome and we haven’t regretted our oversight on this, but Barbieri Hostel is likely going to change this and make us avoid hostels in the future!
First Time Flying Ryanair
Posted by ScarlettMar 16th, 2009 | No Comments
Today we took our “free” flight to Madrid and now we can see how Ryanair manages to make a profit while charging such outstandingly low fares. If you read the first related blog about our $0.00 fare (http://www.monkeyandrooster.com/2009/02/12/000-airfare), you might recall there was no charge for the flight itself, but 10 euros each for taxes and fees, and another 5 euros each for a passenger fee.
If the Food Doesn’t Get Better, I’m Going Home!
Posted by ScarlettMar 15th, 2009 | 3 Comments
Last night, after a wonderful day in Porto, we decided to have dinner in the Ribeira area by the water so that we could see the Ponte D. Luis bridge at night. The view was spectacular, but the food was a big disappointment!
Saturday in Porto
Posted by ScarlettMar 14th, 2009 | 4 Comments
Since the breakfast included at the hostel was only toast and cereal, we headed out early today and wandered into a cafe that seemed to serve our normal idea of breakfast (eggs, toast, etc). The language barrier came into play again so we blindly ordered by pointing at things on the menu that looked like words we sort of recognized (such as ovo, which means egg). We ended up ordering a heart-attack breakfast (2 eggs, a hamburger patty, and a hot dog style wiener for me and 1 egg, a small steak, and french fries for Paul), but it was delicious and it kept us full for most of the day 
First Day in Porto
Posted by ScarlettMar 13th, 2009 | No Comments
Today we arrived in Porto and checked into the Rivoli Cinema Hostel. I am happy to report that this hostel has a nicer bathroom, but unfortunately it’s co-ed, so now I’ll really have to be careful when getting out of the shower! The other good thing about this hostel is that we have a private room with a “double” bed (which is really actually two single beds pushed together) and they have a washer and dryer you can use for free! The bad thing about this hostel is there is an ant infestation in the kitchen, which makes us not want to store any food there, and there is no social atmosphere whatsoever.
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