Well,
day 2 and 3 have been reasonably less panicked than day 1, possibly owed to coming down with a stonking cold due to being run down and it being rather too toasty to sleep at night. Not fun. However yesterday I made the excellent decision to do the free walking tour of the centre of Madrid offered by the hostel, and ended up having a meal and a wander with a few of them afterwards, around the beautiful Retiro park and to the museums (which I almost went for then felt like I was about to conk out.)
In the evening we went to a 'famous tapas bar where the locals go,' and were promised an authentic local experience rather than a cheesy tourist trap. This involved being crammed into a room like sardines, getting a seat was a luxury reserved for the lucky few (not me lol), and waiters who weaved around flocks of people, stacked plates and glasses in hand, like an acrobat, as if the incredible maneuvers he put on show came part of the price. We were told, "In other places, you choose what you want to eat, but here they'll bring you lots of food and they'll keep bringing it until we tell them to stop!". All you can eat tapas wasn't bad for €10 even if it did involve 10 people huddling around each little table. Afterwards we were encouraged to go on the bar crawl, which sounds like fun only here it´s the cultural norm to head out about 1:30/ 2am and finish around 6, and given I could feel my sinuses clogging up at the mere thought, I gave it a miss (but still felt rubbish today - poo!). Still I managed to drag myself to the park in this beautiful 29 degree sunshine and feel like I achieved something through my coughing, spluttering, sniffling and hapless flathunting.
To say I've been thrown in in the deep end is quite an understatement, and to say I've never felt so lost in my life is no exaggeration. But now I'm here to stay, and I'm learning fast so all I can say is... bring it on!
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