Homeless in Madrid (2)

So, after our sleepless night, we had a late start.  It was decided that we couldn't stay in this apartment hotel any longer, and especially not for the 6 nights that we were going to spend in Madrid.  That meant that it was time to look for a new place to stay.

However, we didn't let that get in the way of our cultural experience.  We still managed a very Spanish breakfast of pan con tomate ('bread with tomato') and some freshly squeezed orange juice.

Our breakfast deal-of-the-century.

... and an example of pan con tomate.

After a bit of free internet at the tourist info centre, we booked a new place using wotif.com.  Phew (or so we thought).  Went back to the first place, packed up and headed off.  The next hotel was about 30 minutes walk away, dragging our bags along with us.  When we got there, they told us that, although we had been able to book for three people on the net, they had no extra beds to put in the room.  That meant our only choice would have been to pay for two double rooms.

So, we were out in the street again.  At least this second place let us use their internet to look for other possible options.  This we did, and took our bags for another walk across town.  Same story at the third hotel: 2 rooms, or nothing.  We were getting hungry, tired, and fed up, and Mum was telling us that we should just go into the next hotel we saw, no matter what the cost.

I saw a sign for a pension down the road, so said I'd just go and check out what it was about.  The lady on reception was lovely, and showed us through several different rooms, before also taking us to another nearby hostal which was part of the same business, and showing us rooms there too.  So, Hostal Abadia turned out to be our saviour - and cheaper than the first place, too!

At this point, we were extremely hungry, so went wandering down the road and stumbled upon a Cañas y Tapas restaurant.  What with the hostal and that, I decided our luck was turning!  We got a 2 course menu with dessert, a drink, and bread for about 8 euros per person.  Filling meals, and an amusing waiter who was keen to try out his English, and called Mum 'regal': that's a win in my books.

Flamenco guitar and song, Opera, Madrid

Last thing on the day's schedule was to head to the square in front of the Opera to check out a free flamenco music concert...  The walk also served to help us digest dinner!  We sort of got a bit distracted along the way, what with the mass of Spanish people (and tourists) who magically appear in the streets and bars in the evenings, the street performers, the shop windows, and the Christmas lights.  However, we ended up catching the last 20 minutes of the concert.

In the end, day 2 was a success:
Better accommodation: Check
Well-fed: Check
Cultural Experiences: Pan con tomate, Flamenco