Day 29 : Adio Greece, Hola Spain!

With 4 hours of sleep and last memories of Athens taking my 1st midnight swim at a beach, I had to say Adio (“Goodbye” in Greek) to Greece for now (I’ll be back!), as I made my way to the airport to catch my flight to Madrid, Spain.  (Bus X96 allowed me to board at Protosi Kalamaki ).

4 hours of flight and a couple of hours commuting from the airport, I finally got into Madrid city and was welcomed with narrow streets lined with low rise houses with beautifully architectured facade, each with a different character and style. 

Perhaps it was the area where I was staying in, but there were lots of wholesalers managed by Asians lining the small streets, and I noticed many Chinese or Vietnamese working as coolies / delivery staff, pushing trolleys of goods around the streets of Madrid. 

I decided that the best way to familiarise my way around, was to get lost in the numerous tiny streets that intertwine the heart of the city.  I think I did pretty well though as managed to visit Plaza Mayor, Mercado de San Miguel, Plaza de La Villa, Iglesia Catedral and Real de La Almudena, in the balance few hours of the afternoon

 

 

 

 

Experienced my first Spanish “Lost in Translation” moment when I tried purchasing a local prepaid sim card, since the staff could speak only Spanish. So with a phrase book in hand and an almost non-existent Spanish language background, I tried to get myself understood, and of course to try to understand what the staff was trying to say. 

The staff at the 1st store decided that it was easier to use Google translate to communicate with me (the wonders of modern technology)!  No purchase was made as they had a problem activating the sim card.  So I went to a different store, and after about an hour spent at the 2 different stores, I finally walked out happy with a Euro 10 credit in my new prepaid sim card.

Feeling too tired to attempt communicating in Spanish further and with a growling stomach, I headed into the 1st Asian convenient store I could find and bought a packet of instant noodles as well as 2 peaches.  That was my dinner!