I woke around 5:45 this morning, 15 minutes before my alarm went off. I packed my last belongings to take to Spain, made sure Mum was okay, and then sat watching television until my friend Les arrived to pick me up and take me to Fareham train station.
The train journey to Gatwick was pretty straightforward; we didn't need to change anywhere, and we managed to get a seat. On arrival at the airport, Paul and I lined up to check in our luggage and then decided we didn't need to as we only had carry-on luggage. After checking the ever-shrinking luggage check-in size, we queued up again to check our bags in.
An extensive breakfast was enjoyed in the 'Giraffe ' restaurant, which cost nearly £10 without a drink, but it filled me up. Before boarding the plane, we walked around Paul's favourite shop at the airport, Whiskey World. The flight was uneventful, and we soon touched down in Madrid. Getting through the airport and customs and picking up our luggage was easy, and we were on the metro quickly.
Paul was in charge of navigation and quickly got the hang of the underground system, and we were soon on our way to our hotel. We found it quickly as it had a large hotel sign on the roof and was visible from the station. We checked in and went to our room. It was clean, had WIFI and plenty of space, which is just what you want from a hotel for a short break, but it was much further out from the centre of Madrid than Paul had thought when he booked it. There were no local bars, cafes or restaurants.
We soon were unpacked, and we had a few beers in the hotel bar before heading off to look around Madrid for an Irish bar that Paul wanted to visit. Once again, navigating to our destination on the underground was pretty straightforward, but finding the bar Paul wanted to visit wasn't possible, and we eventually settled for a meal and a few beers in a TGIF next to the Bernabeu Stadium.
Getting back after midnight was no problem as the trains were still running, and by 1:10 am, we were back in the hotel room.