Sevilla: Speed walking never felt so good

This weekend I headed to Madrid. I absolutely loved this city! The moment I stepped off the metro, we knew we weren't in Sevilla anymore because people were walking at a normal pace - it caught me a little of guard (yes, the slow Andalusian lifestyle carries over to walking at a painfully slow pace as well). After successfully navigating the metro system we arrived at our hostel (which with my directionally challenged ways, this was a huge success, and made me have a little more faith in myself for once I travel to a country where I don't know the language).

Our hostel had an amazing location - close to Plaza Mayor, Plaza del Sol, Palacio Real, and the Prado. After arriving we head out to explore the city a little. First we checked out Parque del Retiro. It was huge - I would like to refer to it as the Central Park of Madrid. After that we went to the Prado. There was a ton of classical art and works of many famous Spanish painters, like Goya and Velazquez. Later that night we met up with some friends to go check out the club, Kapital, that we were told was a must see. After paying 18 euro to enter, I thought to myself, wow this better be good. It definitely lived up to my expectations. This was by far the craziest club I have ever been to - 7 stories, a different theme on every floor, and a nice little blast of mist from the ceiling every 5 or 10 minutes to cool you off.

The next morning we checked out the Royal Palace. It is home to the Royal Family in Spain, but today they live in a different home. Today it is used more for meetings. Throughout the entire tour I was in complete awe - unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take pictures. But to give you more of a picture this palace has over 2000 rooms. In each room we toured, there were anywhere from 5 to 20 different chandeliers. There was even a room that was completely made out of porcelain. After the palace, we explored the city a little more. People in Madrid will do the craziest things for money - walk around in Disney outfits, dress like headless men, etc. Later that day we made friends with 3 guys in our hostel that were studying in Switzerland. Since I love making random friends, I invited them to dinner with us. Well, we didn't leave for dinner until about 11, and a lot of places at this point were only serving appetizers. Finally, at 11:30 we found a place that served dinner, but it was a little upscale for us. However, it was delicious and we chose to ignore the glares from the much older, sophisticated crowd.

The next day we were going to check out this part of the city that was supposed to look like Manhattan. We had to take a bus there, but when I opened my purse to grab money for the bus, my wallet was gone. I was in a state of panic because I had just taken out money (100 euro, equivalent to about $140) AND had my check card in my wallet. Unfortunately, none of the places I had gone had found my wallet. Yes, I believe I was a victim of pick pocketing :( Luckily, my passport and camera were still intact. Immediately after this happened, I bought an anti-theft neck wallet at a market to use in Barcelona, Rome and on my 8 day Eurotrip. Barcelona and Rome are notorious for having some of the worst pick pocketing on earth. Yes I'll look like a nerd, but at least no one can pick pocket me :)