Hostel Metropol

I'm waiting in the rec room of Hostel Metropol during my second trip to Madrid, Spain. This would be my first stay at a hostel & I'm waiting to see if they have a bed available. (That's what happens when you show up in a city without reservations.) Woohoo! There's free Internet! Gotta check my mail. It's been days.

Okay, there is a bed and I'll share a room with a girl from Germany & a guy. I haven't met him yet. I didn't know it was co-ed. There's also no air, no towels, one flat sheet, & street noise. There IS free breakfast, free Internet, a bathroom in the room, and only €17/night. (You get what you pay for, right? Thank goodness I brought my own towels and sleep sheet. Good thing I had a flashlight, too, because the lights went out for a few hours one night.) I'm overjoyed a bed's available, though, because they were full when I called, so I simply showed up with a prayer. I did not feel like lugging my pack all over town in hopes of finding a room.

It felt good being in Madrid; familiar. I got lost on the Metro for hours, but I sure know how to use that sucka now & it's not such a mystery maze to me. After I dropped my pack off in the room, I headed to Cercedilla which I'd missed earlier in my trip. I wanted to try one of the hiking trails, but I got into the city too late. Not many trains stop in Cercedilla. I basically explored the simple non-descript town, which had beautiful views. I took some pictures & found my mommy a postcard. Afterwards, I headed back to Madrid.

My roommate, Katherine was cool. We had so much in common it was scary. We only saw our male roommate briefly. He'd partied all night, so he came in about 4am and left about 6am. I was so tired, the street noise lulled me to sleep without a problem. Breakfast was good the next morning, too. I think I'll stay another night.

View in Cercedilla