Thursday 6th September

The train ride wasn't so bad actually. The beds were small and George didn't kill me, so I luckily survived the night. The moon was hanging low and it was massive but only half was shining, however it was a bright red. I thought it was a sign I was surely going to die but hey...look I'm still here! I didn't die even after using the toilets. I was looking for the flush but oh no, there was no flush. It was a bar you hold with your foot to open the back of the bowl and everything goes flying out. Yummy!

I got off the train after the ticket inspector woke us up an hour before arrival. I said "sorry what was that?" when he spoke Spanish. So he repeated himself...in fucking Spanish. I heard you talk English before, fool. So once we arrived I got off the train and stuck into a little corner with no ticket into the metro, another guy on my train was next to me but luckily we found a metro worker who let us out into the metro. Smart me figured out how to catch the metro the day before. It was really easy.

So I got out of the metro, which was easy to get because it reminded me of the Paris metro. I got up into the hostel, which was too easy to find. I then got told that there was no room available for me. My heart sunk. What the fuck was I to do? Where do I go? But I paid a deposit already!!! Then the receptionist said that there is no room for me in the hostel, but there is room in their other hostel. I felt some relief. Until she said that it's all the same, but better there. It's centrally located to the main centre, has a private bathroom, has a balcony and is nicer but more expensive. Yet they had to honor the price I paid. Ha. Damn right. So I had to go find the other damn hostel.

Now by this stage it's 10.15, I haven't showered in a day and I've slept in my clothes and climbed a hill and back I smelts I bad. So I had no choice but to eat mints and pray to the God of Lynx. I checked in and left my bag locked up as I went to the free walking tour. It was the final one I could do with Sandemans and the guy, Connor, he was fantastic. In Berlin the lady was great but this guy was fantastic. graces was probably just as good as him, from Porto. I learnt that years of inbreeding creates a hell of a lot of issues with Royals. The final Hob was disabled, so they got a bird, chopped the head off it and placed it on-top of the king. Also about the terrorist attack back in 1906 (killing 20~) and not the 2004 metro bombing (killing 119), however I can say I went to Madrid and used the very metro which was attacked. The town hall which took only 130 years after Madrid was made capital to be complete and also the Cathedral which was only completed in 1993, around 300 years to finish.

I decided to get a ticket to the tapas experience because I wasn't sure who would be in the hostel and if I'd met anyone to grab tapas. So once the tour finished at 1.40, I had lunch and by 2pm I had sangria and paella for €7. It then got to 2.30 and I left because I needed to check into the hostel and shower.

For the shower the option was either freezing cold or cold. I had a cold shower. So much for a better hostel bitch. But I only paid about €50 for the three nights. I felt so yuck but finally I could shower and dry off with my equally filthy towel. I met four girls from Antwerp in my room and they were really nice.

3.50 came and I left for the tapas, so I ate at 2 and then 4. It's okay, I hadn't eaten all day really so this made up for it. I met a girl from Melbourne and a couple who used to live in Melbourne but now are in Perth. They reminded me of those couples that just travel because they have the money but pretend to have the brains. You can talk as intellectually as you wish, but the moment you told me you quit your job in favour for a holiday of 3 months and you're just going to email your boss for your job back, really tells me how stupid you are. But ohhhh no. No one told me tapas can be a plate shared. We got a plate of paella between the four of us and the Melbourne girl couldn't eat it because of the seafood. The couple didn't eat any and so I was. I think I know why. I had a feeling I had a big snot in my nose but I couldn't find it. It seemed to be a phantom snot. So I eventually ignored it after trying to subtlety remove it. Once we left and I had half the paella, I sneezed and it was hard. Out comes flying the biggest wettest clog of snot in my life and it went right for my hand. I yelled "fuck!" because I realised why no one else ate...I had a massive snot I couldn't find but ended up ignoring because I couldn't find it thinking it was just my imagination. Nope. I thought how am I going to remove this beast? Luckily Alex have me a spare metro ticket in Lisbon and it was paper, I even tried to hand it out before I left Lisbon and no one wanted it. So I reached into my pocket and put it onto that and kept walking. Ah Angelo....

I tried tripe. The sauce was great but the tripe, oh god. Why? I thought it was chicken or something. Eh. But they had some other good foods there. The couple got a beer and everyone else said no thanks. I didn't get one either because I needed to sleep so bad. When the guy got out the beers he gave the couple like 4 different tapas. Goddamn it. I knew I'd get hungry soon so I got a midnight snack of Churros. They were amazing.

So I went to sleep, woke up lateish an still went out. I was told on the tour that nothing happens before 2am. Connor was right. So I looked for a place, had a drink or two and left by 3am. I was insanely tired. But when I was walking back there were kids, under 10, walking with their parents in the city streets. WTF!!