Granada is the best.

I came to that conclusion after visiting Madrid and Toledo, though they were lovely enough. Madrid has a little bit of the big city, noisy, busy, anonymous feel about it, while Toledo seemed a bit on the small and touristy side. Granada, on the other hand, is perfect. <3

I don't have a whole lot to say about the last two weeks, perhaps because I am becoming accustomed to this life and things do not seem so new and strange anymore. Or perhaps simply because I've been boring recently. I'll try to do more noteworthy things this upcoming week. Still need to find that Spanish guy with a moped.

Last weekend, we went to Madrid for the 4 day weekend and stayed in my first hostel, which was an experience that I'd rather not (but am almost certain to) repeat. Turns out they are not so glamorous. Strange, huh? Honestly, though, it was fine. I wouldn't go so far as to say comfortable, but it met all the basic needs and was cheap, which is always a plus.

Upon arriving, we were dropped off at some random location by our confused-and-not-willing-to-admit-it cab driver. Eventually, after much walking around/contemplating and direction asking by the more direction-apt members of the group, we found our hostel and then headed off to Plaza Mayor. Prepare to be impressed by how many people pictures I have (always a weak point in my photography...).

Above: Anna, Atalie, and myself in front of the building with cool paintings of people (also below...).

More pictures of the plaza...

Bob Esponja (one of my host sisters' favorite shows) also made it to Madrid! As did several Mickey Mouses and an overweight Spiderman. 

While we were there, some sort of crazy hippy rally/dancing demonstration was going on, apparently because "the government wants to prohibit music in the street." Which would be tragic.

Next stop was the palace, which was incredible. Unfortunately, photography was not permitted (or, as the Spanish signs say, "fotos no") in the most incredible part by far (the inside). I've never seen such intensely decorated rooms. The jungle room (*not its real name*) was my favorite.

The cathedral (Catedral de la Almudena?) by the palace. Fun fact: I stood in the shadow of the middle statue to take this picture.

The palace:

By the precedence they take in my photos, one might conclude that the lampposts interested me more than the actual building.

I couldn't resist...

And the picture below just about sums up the trip. Note that while some plan/sort things out as they pour over the map, others... not so much.

I've now reached the end of day one. Day two has far too many pictures to attempt to complete at 2 am, so I'll save that for another day.