Spain Day Nine: Final Tour, Free Time and More Madrid

Spain Day Nine: Final Tour, Free Time and More Madrid

Spain Trip Central

Day 9: August 16, 2013 –Madrid

MADRID, Spain – Our first full day in Madrid was another very fun day. After three days in a row with games, we used the day off to see sights with a guide and then explore the great city of Madrid on our own.

It was beautiful again today, so I didn't jinx us last night! Our local tour guide opened by telling us that yesterday was the 'hottest day of the year' in Madrid. He clearly has never been to Louisiana.

We started with a driving tour of the city, getting to see a lot of the city, new and older parts, from the bus. We weaved through the narrow streets, which had a very Bourbon Street feel to them and learned that they were all the streets from before the city was developed.

The center of the city is what Madrid was, pre-1800's, and as you get past where the old city walls were, you see bigger streets with the newer buildings.

We also learned that Madrid has the most trees in any city in Europe, taking the title of 'Greenest City.'

We made a quick stop at the Madrid bullfighting ring, which from just the outside we could tell was much bigger than the one we saw in Valencia. Our guide told us that if Madrid is awarded the 2020 Summer Olympics (which he is almost positive they will), the Plaza de Toros would be the arena for basketball.

From the Plaza de Toros we went to the Royal Palace of Madrid for a partially guided tour of the palace itself. We got there and were free to walk around the courtyard, see the view of the entire city, and check out the Royal Armory.

Right when we got into the courtyard we saw some familiar faces in former Sun Belt foe, Florida International. A few of the players and coach Marlin went over to talk to them, showing what a small world it really is.

The palace was very beautiful, but did not allow us to take pictures inside, some people still tried, leading to a security guard to awkwardly following us around the whole time.

It took over 20 years to build the palace, which opened in 1755, and is no longer the home of the Spanish Royal Family, used for ceremonies only.

The tour of the palace ended our guided tours of the city, giving us the rest of the afternoon to do what we pleased. We were dropped off in the center of the city, which was just a few minutes walk from our hotel. Of course to our tour guide, everything was a few minutes from the hotel.

We were free to eat, shop or just go back to the hotel and sleep if we so pleased, but a majority of the group took in the town and enjoyed the day.

We regrouped at 7:00 p.m, or 19 o'clock as some of the guys call it (they use 24 hour clocks here), for what was supposed to be our farewell dinner, until our gametime was changed to 5:00 p.m. tomorrow.

We ate at a small restaurant in the Playa de Mayor, a large square near our hotel, before getting a bit more free time for the rest of the night, until curfew.

Tomorrow is our final day in Spain, and our final game. We play the same team as yesterday, who was scheduled to play FIU tonight as well. After the game we will have dinner and start packing for home, as we leave on Sunday morning to come back to the U.S.

So for almost the last time, talk to y'all tomorrow,

Nick Ross

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Spain Day Nine: Final Tour, Free Time and More Madrid

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