Kayleen Travels

I took a noon train to Seville. My first train. I arrived at 2:30pm, walked 20 minutes in the heat to my hostel. In Madrid, every time I mentioned I was going to Seville, people would say, in this heat? I guess this city is particularly hot, and they weren't lying, the temperature was above 100 F. I stayed in my hostel until 8:30pm (I mean, there was air conditioning). I was really tired, and really hungry, because I had only eaten those Guadarrama muffins all day. Here are some pictures from my evening walk around Seville.

This bag of magdelenas / delicious light carb-y goodness has been my breakfast and lunch for three days. I bought a dozen for less than $3. Really helped with my food budget...

I connected with Natacha through an online network of travelers and locals who to meet people from all over the world and show off their home (this network is called Couchsurfing). Natacha and I hung out on Friday night in Madrid. She is also the one who recommended I go to Temple de Debod for sunset. Instead of staying in Madrid until Monday, on Saturday night I took a bus north about an hour to stay as a guest in Natacha's home in Guaderrama. Natacha and I walking around her town Eating calamari and patatas bravas  View from Natacha's guest room Sunday, July 21, Natacha took me to El Escorial, where I took a tour of the famous monastery there. It was gorgeous. My favorite room was the library. I wish I had pictures of the inside, but there was a strict no pictures policy. After the tour, we walked some more around El Escorial, and then met up with Miguel and Nadia, who brought food and supplies for a picnic. By the time ...

Saturday morning I went on a free walking tour to learn more of the history of Madrid and see the sights. Madrid has a very rich and interesting history. A lot of wealthy kings, Muslim roots, Christian's taking over and taking away freedom of religion, separation of church and state (officially making Madrid the capital), and Franco (dictator until 1975 when he died of natural causes). Some things I learned were: Madrid loves eighties music Tinto de Verano (red wine of summer) is delicious The word for water fountain is "fuente de agua" and this is important because the climate is hot and dry and you will want to drink water constantly The name Madrid has Arabic roots, from the word mayrit which means something like place of water   Plaza de Mayor   Only Cathedral in Madrid (left) and largest functioning royal palace in the world (right)   In front of the palace gates   The palace At El Retiro Parque Afte...

I arrived on a Friday afternoon, after sleeping only an hour on the overnight flight. I took my time navigating myself to the city center, got myself lunch, and figured out where to buy a sim card (allowing me to use my phone throughout Europe for a month). When I found my hostel, it was after 4pm. I took a shower and a nap.   Post shower and nap!  First night in Spain.   Puerta del Sol, the center of the city. Puerta del Sol By 8:45pm, I arrived at Temple de Debod to watch the sunset. It had a wonderful view of the city, and bit of a college courtyard vibe. Also, great for people watching. I was able to meet Natacha and Alberto there, and we went out for some food and drinks. By the time I got back to my hostel it was 1:00am!