Madrid
took an overnight bus from Barcelona to Madrid.
Suffered in the cold since all the cafes were already closed and the bus terminal only opened at 3am in the morning.
We reached Madrid in the morning.
Something that motivate us was that we will be staying in a hotel!Yeah!
5 ppl in a hotel room which was meant for only 2.Oopss...
Yong and me went in first, we had to act like couple but no no do not misunderstand, not holding hands or what... just normal... we carried the other girls' bag. funny how the receptionist didnt find it weird that we were carrying 5 bags instead of two..
we asked for two copies of maps from the receptionist... she gave me a strange look, as if me and Yong just quarrelled and we want to go different way in Madrid....hahaha....
after we went to our room, the other 3 girls(Mindy, Sharon and Sarah) then came up.
planning our route in the hotel room
The single bed at the left side was for Lucky Yong.. the only guy in this trip. The double bed was for me, mindy,sharon, and sarah...
went to flea market..lotsa police around. Think the rate of pick pocket was very high. saw policeman handcuffed some criminals (the word "criminal" sounds so serious) and some ppl running to report missing stuff to the police.Dun feel safe...
We went to the stadium where the annual( if i didnt remember wrongly) bull fighting event is held. At first, I thought that bull fighting was an activity where two bulls fight. But NO.. It's about Man vs Bull. The man's objectives is to kill the bull. But, first of all, he has to perform for the audience by dancing around the bull while the bull charge at him...of cos to make the bull charges, the man has to anger the bull using the red or pink cloth. The final blow was to thrust a pole into the bull's neck...OUCH!.. Gruesome.. There were controversial issues
--> Animal Rights Vs this traditional Culture/Sports(???)
Went to FC Madrid homeground
There was a match the next day but i forgotten Madrid vs which club. Guess tickets were already sold out. There were black markets though, ppl standing outside the stadium selling tickets...
Yeah yeah i grew fat i know...ignore me for this pic okay...now trying my best to lose them all....:P...must succeed before i go back..
went to see Picasso's work.. I didnt take any pic in the museum. No offence but his art work is like children's drawing. Just use pencil and anyhow draw. but i believe u had already heard alot of ppl saying the same thing. The specific theme for the exhibition i went to depicts his feelings for the war. Most of his work showed a crying mother carrying his dead child. I think he wanted to express his sadness and objection to the war. There were also some drawings on a naked woman and a man displaying some intimacy act. think the woman was his love.. I am only guessing...
I seemed to be the only one interested in his work cos the rest of the guys went out of the exhibition after a short while....
and when i went out i saw this:
Mindy sleeping....
hehehe
Some nice pictures
Stylo SMART car
Papa, I wan this one....just kidding.. kekeke.. i prefer this one:
Oh.. i miss making Ba Zhang with my mummy!!!
night views
My Opinions
Comparing Barcelona and Madrid, I would say that Barcelona is a city where one goes there to see the architural buildings and for Madrid, i feel that it's a place where u can experience the lifestyle of the Spaniards. slow and relaxing.
Something I really like about spain is their busking talent. Most buskers can play musical instrument very well and, surprisingly, some even have really good vocal. Music is everywhere even on the metro, in the tunnel, in park etc...The presence of musics makes the place so lively.
Another thing i noticed is that the operating hours in Spain in very different from the rest of the Europe. They usually closed in the noon probably for afternoon nap and open again in the eveningg. Unlike most of the Europes cities which shops close at 6pm, most of the ones in Spain closed at around 10pm.
The following Picture is for someone special...
