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| Plaza Mayor |
Madrid was the first city that I was visiting completely on my own. Well, almost completely alone. I had a friend, Yi Yi, who was on exchange in Madrid and my main reason for visiting the Spanish capital was so I could see her again because I only usually see her once a year anyway (She's now based in Abu Dhabi).
Although I was going to Madrid to visit Yi Yi, she had classes pretty much all day for most of the time that I was there so that left me to explore the city all on my lonesome during the long summer days. As Yi Yi was living with a host family, she wasn't able to host me and I was set to couch surf with some of her friends who I had never met but had been promised were super friendly. It's the closest that I have ever gotten to travelling alone and as a result, Madrid is a city that will always be close to my heart.
I was lucky enough to be greeted by Yi Yi at the airport and it was so nice being reunited with her after almost a year! Nothing tops the feeling of seeing friends overseas and this was no different. Madrid ended up being one of my favourite trips during my whole 7 months away from home.
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| Plaza Mayor |
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| Patatas Bravas |
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| Black Paella |
We spent our first afternoon wandering around the city centre but it quickly started raining so we sought shelter in a nearby bar, deciding to grab dinner while we waited out the downpour. I had been so excited about visiting Madrid not only because I got to see Yi Yi again, but also because I would be reunited with Spanish food! Paella is one of my favourite dishes but instead of getting a traditional seafood paella, Yi Yi suggested that we try out the black paella which is actually made with squid ink! I was really worried that my teeth would be stained black after our meal but if anything, my teeth were whiter than they were before. We also ordered patatas bravas, another favourite of mine, and tortilla which Yi Yi introduced to me as one of her favourites.
