We are finally in Madrid! It was  along and not very comfortable train ride here overnight, but we made it. I used my suitcase as a pillow, had my purse in my lap and was hugging my bag. After arriving in Madrid at about 7 am, very exhausted and un-showered, we luckily found a nice hotel right in front of the Gran Vía metro stop, called Tryp Gran Vía. I´m so excited to be back in Madrid!

Meeting characters on the Barcelona-Madrid train

We did have the chance to meet a couple characters on our journey to Madrid. First, we met this Australian girl who has been traveling for nine months! She worked and saved for a year, and now she´s bouncing around Europe on her own, couch surfing and just staying with friends, or friends of friends, or random aquaintances when she can. Apparently, in the process, she´s met some “mad, nutty, nutty people.”

As much as I´d love to be a gypsy (in theory), I don´t think I could do that. First of all, I don´t travel lightly. Second, I don´t think I can handle couch surfing and not having any personal space. And third, I think I´m too anti-social to randomly meet people in every city I visit and try to find someone to stay with. Let´s just say I´d rather be a gypsy traveling in style. It still counts!

Then, on the train, we meet this guy that´s from Hungary but has been staying in Barcelona for several years, making jewelry and selling it at Park Guell. Then he asked me what I do, and when I said I work at an advertising agency, he asked if I was the secretary! No sir, I assure you I am not!