Madrid: a town of many flip flops


This past weekend I was in Madrid meeting my friend Brooke. It was very warm weather, but was better than rain. The first day I ventured off to the Sophia museum that Devon had recommended. It was my favorite museum and I spent about two hours there (which for me is a long time!). Then i sat outside and at lunch: tuna and some peanuts (I cant eat at restaurants, so traveling is difficult). Then I made my way to Puerto Sol which is the downtown shopping area it was nice but nothing special really. My trusty areo-soles sandals were giving me blisters after walking about 8 miles so I invested 20 Euros in a pair of flip flops known for being comfortable. I continued walking and went to the Royal Palace and the Cathedral which is next door. They have some very nice parks there and great fountains! I made my way back to my hostel to have my tuna and grapes for dinner and then found a movie theater that showed American movies. Angles and Demons in Madrid :-)
The next day I met up with Brooke and Jenny and we made our way to the Thyseen Museum. It was a smaller exhibit but very nice, and their normal exhibit is very good and has a broad range. Next we went for some coffee-- I noticed how bad my feet hurt and it seems that my new flip flops were also giving me blisters so we stopped for band aides and kept on trekking! We walked along the Salamanca area, which is an upscale neighborhood. That's where I could no longer handle the blisters. After two sets of band aides that would not stay put due to the sweat on my feet I thought I was going to dieee!!!! So we started searching for new shoes for me (we had walked 10 miles thus far). The only thing we could find for under 30 Euros were a pair of clear plastic sandals with silver polka dots on them. They were being sold in a perfume store and i went in to try them on. As I tried them on I could see the owner of the store looking at my dirty, blistered feet-- thinking that I had BETTER be buying those sandals :-) I did, and we walked home. I immediately broke my Europe rule (no running shoes, unless I am running). I put on the running shoes and we headed out to continue our adventure! So when I am asked what I brought back form Madrid-- I brought back many flip flops.
The next day I headed out to the local flea market (in my Nike's). There were SO many people!! I could hardly move, it was a sea of people. I walked for about an hour then abandoned the flea market-- it was so crowded I couldn't even see anything. I walked around the town a bit more and took my last pictures. After my last can of tuna I packed up my bags and made the way to the airport for my flight back to Paris. A nice trip, but good to be back home in Paris where I have shoes, the cool breeze and uncanned food :-)

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