June 17

Free day!
Not only did we get a free breakfast, free lunch, but when we got back to our hostel that night we discovered one of our beds had been booked, so we got our money back and Syd and I had to sleep in the same bed.
This morning after our free breakfast we did round one of speed internet. We then walked a few miles to buy bullfight tickets for the next day. Nearby was a public library we were attempting to get free internet from, but instead we stumbled upon some sort of local dance recital/ gymnastic show which we thoroughly enjoyed. After that we rode the metro to a location from which to start a walk toward the Madrid "must-sees." That is where we stopped for lunch and some very friendly locals picked up our tapas tab. On to the walk- first stop was the Ritz hotel- very nice! Next we saw the Prado Museum. Along our walks we have gotten into the habit of stopping in 4 and 5 star hotels. If we can´t stay in them, we at least like to see them. We went to the huge Palace and Cathedral and then stopped a while to sip on Sangria and eat flan. YUM!!! Round two of the internet came next, followed by a trip to the local supermarket/ department store. It was night and day different from the grocery store we went in the night before. "El Corte Ingles" was very nice. We just browsed, went to Starbucks to lounge and try to call a girl from AU living in Madrid (no luck) and finally arrived back at the hostel.
I should take some time to describe this hostel. Two words come to mind: sketchy and international. My roommates are two non-English speaking guys and a girl I have yet to meet. I´m glad Syd is with me! One front desk worker is a very squirrely guy. We are ready to leave this grossness tomorrow. Oh, and we sleep in our sleeping bags because they try to pretend the bedskirts they put on the cots are really sheets.