They Only Come Out At Night

Having ´done´ 3 museums in 3 days, I felt like I hadn´t seen much of the city itself. Everything is within about 10 minutes walking distance of the hostel (fantastic location) so I took a train outwards and wandered through the city at night.

It is often commented that Madrid is the city that parties at night and I think I can see that. Around 9pm last night the streets seemed to be filled with people and had a vibe about it. I walked through one of the Plaza´s that were filled with restaurants, tables and chairs everywhere, but no people yet. I would imagine that would come later.

So I wondered around, had a look at the Royal Palace and another Cathedral, all lite up in white lights. Really hard to compare after seeing the extravagent wealth and decadence of Paris and Versailles.

Although one does get a sense that Spain is a country still trying to find its feet. More just a feeling than anything concrete. Spain is also biding for the 2012 Olympics but unlike Paris where it was in your face all the time with posters, banners and logos, it is much more low key, and you´d hardly even notice.