Madrid: My First Impression

After 13 hour flight I finally arrive in Madrid, Spain. it was sunny with blue skies however, still cold 40-50 F. it is clean here in Madrid. Reminded me of Singapore.

Here's how my first day went.

Took the Metro Train (Subway) from airport to the closest Metro Station of Karla and Chema for €1 then short bus ride from Metro station to the bus stop close to their apartment for another €1. Total cost €2 for a 12 miles distance. The metro staion in clean unlike the one in New York. So far, people here are not very friendly like the customs officer did not say anything to me , he just looked at my passport and stamped it, and too many people say hi or hello -typical behavior of people living in cities. However,they are very helpful - a guy directed me to the right metro train when he saw me going the wrong way I needed help with carrying my luggage because there's a 5 steps of stairs and a guy with dreadlocks approached me and volunteered to help.
Travel tip #1 - Buy the 10 trip pass - €9.30 +€1 airport tax = €+10.30

I am staying with Chema & Karla, great couple I am staying with. I found them online through couchsurfing.com. And thank God for facebook ,this was what we both used as a background check to make sure we are good normal people.

Travel Tip #2 - To save money on accomodation and have an adventurous spirit. Try couchsurfing.com -a website with directory of people all over the world willing to have you sleep in their couch or spare bed for Free for 1-2 night. if staying longer you may need to pay depending on the agreement of both parties.

I have heard from a lot of people who traveled to Europe that food is expensive. So I made sure to find places where I can save money. I went to a local big supermarket - CouroFour. prices are reasonable. I got banana ,tangerines, milk , water, bread 3 strawberry yogurt , 2 caramel yogurt, 4 fruit yogurt = €9.30. I ate at a local restaurant -combo plate of chicken french fries lettuce and tomatoes + bottle water €5.

Travel tip #3 - Shop where the locals shop. Eat where the locals eat. It will save you some money.

I am traveling alone so staying connected and letting my family and frinds that I am doing good is important. I have an Iphone and I do not want to have any roaming charges. To do this , I placed my phone on airplane mode and turned Wi-Fi on. the Madrid airport does not have Wi-Fi,but the Mall has a free one. Kindle with Wi-Fi is good too because it is lighter but bigger than Iphone. Having an unlock cell phone is good and you can buy a European SIM card.

Travel tip #4 - Bring an unlock phone and buy a SIM card for € 9.You need to bring your passport when buying SIM card or else they will not sell you one. Do not buy SIM card at the airport it's expensive.

I enjoyed walking around. There are many people walking around too. I saw many older people even some with canes still very active and moving around.

Travel tip #5 - Always bring passport with you because sometimes police do random checks and asks for identification to check legal status. This reminded me of Arizona new law.

Gracias,
Kaye