Itinerary: Tuam

1 Getting There and Getting Around

Tuam is located on the west of Ireland in County Galway. It has a bus route the goes and comes to Ireland West Airport Knock, an International Airport servicing Ireland, Britain, Portugal, Spain and Italy. It also has a bus link to and from Galway. Galway is accessible to Ireland’s biggest airports Shannon and Dublin, which serve a range of destinations including a majority of Europe and USA. From Galway, a bus to Tuam is close to the Coach Station, at the edge of Eyre Square.

In Tuam, pedestrian transport is mostly used as most places aren’t far to get to but a number of taxi services are in the town if walking isn’t an option.

Budget: It all depends on the activities and where you go to. If you plan on using Tuam as a base to travel elsewhere, it would be wise to have a budget of 50-75 euro daily, depending on the trip.

2 Where to Stay

There are two main hotels in Tuam, both of which offer Mid-week and B&B deals suitable for getaways and weekend breaks:

·         The Correlea Court Hotel

·         The Ard Ri House Hotel

Both hotels offer live evening entertainment, charitable functions and other amenities which appeal to many holidayers!

Besides the two hotels, a couple of B&B’s within Tuam and on the road to Galway that offer reasonable rates for weekend and getaway breaks

3 Things to Do

Tuam is a historic town with a lot of historical importance throughout. A lot of sites contain a lot of history but here are the things to do:

•          Walk Knockma- Knockma is a site of rumoured mythical relevance as it is said that one of the most famous women in Irish legend, Queen Maeve, the Queen of Connaught is buried at the top of the hill along with King Fionbharr, the king of the Connaught Faeiries. The walk is a nice scenic view ad can be seen as a nature trail with a few stone monuments scattered around the walk.
•         Historic/Religious Monuments: A High Cross constructed in 1152 exists in St. Mary Protestant Cathedral in the town which is a cathedral which, in itself was first in construction in the 9^th Century. The Cathedral of the Assumption in Tuam was built in 1832 and has some unique busts of saints and a large alter. Kilbannon Monastic Site sits just outside the town and also has nice surrounding scenic views

There is recreational things to do also:

•       Golf- An 18 hole golf course sits just outside the town and offers a bar onsite and views of the countryside.
•       Day trips to Galway: Galway is a beautiful city to visit if staying in town and offers so much which will be discussed in more detail in a later post. But Galway would be a highly recommended spot for tourists to visit.

4 Places to Eat and Drink

Tuam has a wide variety of bars and restaurants to dine in, including the restaurants of the two hotels mentioned earlier. For breakfast, here are some nice places to eat:

·         Krugars Bar- The Correlea Court Hotel

·         The Palace Restaurant – Located on the Grounds of SuperValu

·         Dick Dowlings Bar- The Ard Ri House Hotel

And for lunch, these places I’d recommend for good food at good prices:

·         The Abbey Tavern- On the Square

·         The Galway Roast- On the Square

·         The News Café- On the Square

·         Pedro’s Café- Tuam Shopping Centre

And for dinner, here are some restaurants that are recommended with good prices and food:

·         La Vissuta (Italian Cuisine)- High Street

·         Bia Bella (Irish/Italian Cuisine)- End of High Street

·         Lumberjacks- Tuam Shopping Centre Car Park

·         Bonsai (Asian Food)- Above Lumberjacks

·         Santoori (Indian)- Egan’s Lane

In Tuam, live music is the source of entertainment within pubs with local talent, here are a few bars recommended:

·         The Brogue Bar- On the Square

·         Harpy’s Bar- Tullinadaly Hill

·         The Abbey Tavern- On the Square

·         Canavans Bar- High Street

·         Duddy’s Bar- Kilbannon

·         Krugers Bar- The Correlea Court Hotel

5 Why Tuam?

As said in the last two posts on Tuam, it’s a small town but it has potential to have a lot more to it. And I feel like the more people come to it and talk about it, as I’ve said, to use as a base to travel elsewhere, it could become a better town for tourists and better place for locals also. It may be a biased thing to say that Tuam could benefit but in all reality, other towns could use Tuam as an example to boost their own tourism and get more people coming and and staying.

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1.       In A small town, what kind of recommendations would you guys make to improve tourism?

2.       What kind of places do you like to see to make a place attractive?

Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Tuam: Top 4 Attracting Things

Tuam is a town in County Galway, on the west coast of Ireland. It's not incredibly big by any means and one would get incredibly annoyed by how much time seems to slow down in a town that has the reputation as the "fastest town in Ireland". For many, it doesn't come across as a tourist destination, and I can sort of agree with that statement to an extent. Tuam is my hometown, for those wondering where these posts are coming from, after the cool Madrid trip. Studying tourism, you notice an implied standard that towns and cities have to have before tourists even consider going there, and the reason why people don't stop in Tuam as tourists is due to it not having met the implied standard, not looking at other towns for inspiration and not having a clue how to fix it.

Being that it is my hometown, I will try to do it justice in my posts to show that it can be a place people could visit, both domestically and internationally.
People in Tuam, myself included, would benefit greatly from a boost in tourism and this isn't ignoring all the other towns in Ireland or the world that lack tourists, it's just an opinion based on my own experience. I've grown up in Tuam and see "Up and coming" businesses start off well. Then between the 6 and 12 month mark, just flounder and end up closing show. And the main reason? Not enough people stopping in the town
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Here are my top reasons to travel to and for stopping in Tuam:

1) History: Tuam has a lot of history around it. If you walk through the town, you will see monuments, old buildings and historic objects i.e John Wayne stopped in Tuam during the filming of "The Quiet Man" to buy a cap and a plaque outside the store still exists. Tuam is one of the Irish towns to have two Cathedrals, one catholic and one protestant. Tuam, as rumors suggest, was build through religious means by St. Jarlath, who still has a significant name in Tuam with one of the largest schools, St. Jarlaths College, is one of the oldest schools in the country, built around 1800.

Many buildings and monuments in Tuam are dated back to previous centuries, like within the doors of the St, Mary's Cathedral stands the High Cross of Tuam which dates back to 1152 and stands within a building which began its construction in the 9th Century. As well as this, as stated in the previous post, is the Knockma peak that, legend says, Queen Maeve of Connaught is buried, For a small town, a lot seemed to happen!

2) Base for Travel: Tuam is on many bus companies stops. With direct links to Derry, Sligo, Galway and Mayo. Tuam has good road access also with upgrades being made regularly to increase number of cars and people coming through Tuam with hopes of bring those people to stop in the town. Roads directly

reach Sligo, Galway, Dublin, Limerick, the Wild Atlantic Way and other places around Ireland. Tuam has two hotels, the Correlea Court Hotel that offers Mid-Week and Weekend deals, ideal for couples and families for a getaway. The other hotel, The Ard-Ri House Hotel, which offers a B&B rate deal. Both hotels are recommended for those on a weekend getaway or mid-week getaway.

3) Sport: Sport features heavily in Tuam within Tuam. Local GAA teams, soccer, Rugby, Golf and Swimming teams bring sport glory to Tuam on a regular basis. An 18-hour golf course and a number of sports pitches exist within the town. What has become popularized in the last year or two, according to local tourist offices across Ireland is Fishing as a recreational activity. More and more people are taking up fishing as a way of relaxing. Tuam, according to avid fishers, sports rivers with good catch and nice banks that provide for a therapeutic day out. Everytime I travel home, I see more people out running, walking and cycling. Worldwide, the idea to get fit has become an epidemic and Tuam hasn't missed out. Boasting 2 gyms, a leisure centre and many fitness businesses. Now, a lot of charitable events involving marathons and half-marathons come through and/or start in Tuam, which could provide a base for Soft Adventure Tourism.

4) Festivals and Events: Four second-level schools exist in Tuam and every year, each school performs an Amateur Operatic performance of a classic musical i.e Oliver, Carousel and Grease. These shows receive annual critical acclaim and sell-out fast. I would recommend seeing one of these shows! A new Festival that has sprung up in Tuam is the Sugarbeat Music Festival. Each summer, the Festival sees talent like the Original Rudeboys, Hometown and The Stunning. The Tuam Arts Festival attracts a crowd to see the usually unusual display. A variety of live music plays in the bars across town, creating an inviting atmosphere.

To get more people to stop in Tuam means more places like Tuam, small towns can see it as a model to shape up and boost tourism. Tuam has quite a bit to offer, for small town but a lot more can be done for it to improve.

And this is just my opinion!
What do you guys think?

Tuam: The Fastest Town in Ireland

Tuam, which in its latin name means Burial ground (I recently found this out and I want to move) is

one of the oldest settlements in the west of Ireland and is the last known seats of the High King of Ireland, Rory O'Connor. The main story behind Tuam's founding was that of St. Jarlath, who was then an archbishop, was going through the countryside by donkey and cart until the wheel on his cart broke, leaving him stranded (Obviously didn't have the Uber app). So not knowing what to do next, Jarlath had a Bear Grylls moment and decided to build a town around his broken wheel. To this day, a replica of the wheel remains at the entrance to the Cathedral in Tuam. St. Jarlath however used to study not far from Tuam. 

So much history revolves around Tuam. Rumours have it that Queen Maeve of Connaught, one of the most strong and fearsome queens in Ireland at the time, is buried on top of Knockma hill, just outside Tuam. In the same hill, legand says that Finnbheara, the king of the Connaught fairies occupies a cairn there and also had his palace there. Atop of Knockma is a lot of prehistoric cairns, showing existence in Tuam during prehistoric times. A walkway was developed around Knockma, where some of the cairns and ruins are still visible. Great place for ghost stories.

Out in Kilbannon (Down the street from my house), the remains of a stone tower stands in the midst of a graveyard. The stone towers in Ireland were used for storage and for protection by monks. If the monestries came under attack by vikings, who would pillage these places for gold and handmade artifacts.

Some of these artifacts by monks are in Trinity library like the Book of Kells. The Kilbannon stone tower was a monastic site set up by a disciple of St. Patrick (The guy with the day named after him). The tower was blown up by a cannon ball, apparently. Was one heck of a party, I'd say!

In the late 19th century and early to mid-20th century, Tuam has workhouses for people who were struck by the famine. During the famine, people were reduced to slaves just to make enough for one meal that would feed a whole family. Remains of these workhouses are scattered around with other various types of institutions dealing with severe human rights issues popping up here and there. Some of which made front page headlines domestically and internationally.

Tuam has a lot of history surrounding it and a lot of myth and legend surround Queen Maeve and the Connaught Fairies. The country roads around Tuam give a historical perspective to things and even looking at buildings like the Tuam Cathedral shows how important religion was in Tuam throughout

its history. And the history of Tuam is a thing of generations, as is with other areas of rural Ireland, for example: My family home is on the same land and same foundation as my great-great grandparents. Some old walls still stand and some old heirlooms still remain. Families everywhere in Ireland remain attached to family items and things that have a  historical significance in Ireland. Fun fact about my life for you!

Tuam today lacks drive in tourism. Although there is an information centre, not many people tend to stop in Tuam unless they are locals. As a knock on effect, there has been many attempts from businesses to set up in Tuam but never manage to survive. However, some key businesses could potentially be attractive to tourists and by bringing them through Tuam, it could give businesses a drive to set up. The problem is, Tuam doesn't give off a tourism vibe. It has hotels, it has restaurants,

touristic sites and could be a base for travelling other places. It's sad, simply due to the fact that people have a lack of interest, but from studying tourism, Tuam could be developed if people get behind it. There would be more jobs, more money coming in locally and potentially more businesses!
I recommend Tuam as a place to visit for a short while, see the historic sites, go for a walk around Knockma, find out what festivals and markets are on and use it as a base to travel around the west of Ireland. So that's why these posts are to promote Tuam and all it has to offer
-Next I will discuss what Tuam can offer besides Historic Tourism attractions-

Itinerary: Madrid

1      Getting there and Getting Around

From Ireland, Madrid is one of the Spanish destinations offered at Dublin Airport. The following airlines fly to Madrid from Dublin:

·         Aer Lingus

·         Iberia Express

·         Ryanair

  Many major airlines fly directly to Madrid Airport as it is a prime located airport in the capital of Spain. American Airlines, Air Europa, Delta Air Lines and British Airways, to name a few, all fly into Madrid-Barajas Airport

When you arrive at Madrid-Barajas Airport, there is a taxi rank outside the door of the arrivals terminal. A large number of taxis flank the taxi rank to take you to your destination.

In the airport also is the Metro. The Metro is the quickest way to get around Madrid. If you are going for a weekend, a 3 Day ticket or a 10-trip travel ticket is the best form of ticket for the metro, just under €20. The metro line leaving from the Aeropuerto connects with many lines that will take you to your destination.

As for Budget- For 4 days in Madrid, it came to about €45 to €50 a day for me, but it all depends on the person but on average, a day would cost €50, considering you have the metro pass.

2      Where to stay

Madrid offers a lot of hostels and hotels and annually gets a lot of backpackers, students and weekend-breakers through its streets so as soon as you figure out that you will visit Madrid, booking your accommodation ASAP is key. A good area to get a place to stay is around Sol as Sol is the real center of Madrid. In Madrid, there are a good few hostels to stay in for example

·        Room007 Ventura Hostel, Ventura de la Vega (Near Sol)- I highly recommend

·        Las Musas Hostel, Calle Jesus y Maria 12

·        The Hat Madrid, Imperial 9

·        Mad4you Hostel, Calle Costanilla de San Vicente, 4

All above from 14.99 onwards

And some of the Hotels offered in Madrid:

·        Hotel Villa Real, Plaza de la Cortez

·        Hotel Europa, Calle del Carmen 4

3      Things to do

Madrid is vibrant with things to do. Historical sites, unique galleries and one of the most culturally intact capitals in Europe. Here is a list of places to visit in Spain’s capital:

•   Plaza Mayor: A beautiful square that gathers street performers and some venders all around the bronze statue of Phillip III of Spain.
•   Puerta del Sol: The real center of Madrid. All roads in Madrid seem to lead back to Sol. In Sol, you will find your favorite cartoon characters roaming around. Also in the Square is “El oso y el Madrono” the symbol of Madrid. It all circulates around 2 fountains and a statue of Charles III of Spain.
•    Parque del Retiro: This 118 hectare park is an amazing place to relax, rent a bicycle, rent a boat on the lake, chill out by the lagoon and basically just have some downtime. It’s a perfect place to watch the sunset!
•  Rastro: The most popular flea market in Madrid. This place is perfect to pick up souvenirs and other market items at a good price.
• Gran Via: The main shopping street in Madrid that has all the top brand stores and smaller boutiques that you could think of. Has really nice places to eat or get ice-cream!
•     Flamenco: Across Madrid there are many venues that show Flamenco shows, if you’re staying at a hotel or hostel be sure to ask for recommendations on the best flamenco shows, it’ll be worth it!
•   Atoche Station: Take a look through Atoche Station and look at the indoor rainforest and the many turtles having a siesta!
•    Art Museums: The Prado Art Gallery and The Reina Sofia host paintings of some of the world’s most famous artists (Goya, Picasso and Dali. These museums decorate historic pieces on their walls to the public.
•     Mercado de San Miguel: I think it necessary to pay a visit to the Mercado de San Miguel once on a trip to Madrid to experience this unique indoor market.

4      Where to eat and drink

Madrid is spoiled for choice with its many places that sell authentic Spanish food.

In the afternoon, nothing beats sitting down after a morning of walking around Madrid than sitting down with a nice bowl of calamares, croquetas and a glass of cold beer. For these afternoons, I recommend:

•          Ciudad Condal on Gran Via (Coming from Plaza de España on your left)
• Casa Labra (Beside Corte Ingles off Puerta del Sol)
• Meson de la Guitarra (Plaza Mayor area)- Try the chorizo

          For Dinner, it is nice to sit down and eat and have a glass of wine after your long day and here are a few places I recommend for dinner:

•    El Busco- It is a restaurant close to the Plaza Mayor that has authentic Spanish cuisine and fine wine to accompany it. Bustling atmosphere.
•  La Cabana Argentina (Ventura de la Vega)- Amazing Argentinian food and beautiful meat selections.
•    Barriga Llena (Calle Libertad, near Chueca)- Has authentic Mexican food served to Mexican standard.

And for a snack, there is only one place I can recommend:

•   El Brilliante- They have the best calamares in Madrid, award winning actually. If you enter El Brilliante, I recommend the croquetas con jamon or the bocadillo de calamares. Both of these are a treat that can be washed down with a nice Caña con limon (Beer and lemonade).

5      WHY MADRID?

A good question to ask before travelling to Madrid is “Why do I want to go there?” And hopefully I can come up with that answer. Madrid offers a rich historic culture with customs that date back centuries and food recipes that are generations old. The city is tamer then Paris or London but still has the city feel. It’s ideal for a perfect weekend away for sight-seeing and relaxing. The place offers art, history, socializing and other various things which makes it a wonderful vacation location!

Madrid: Pic Post

My trip to Madrid wiped out the storage on a relatively new iPod with pictures of most places I visited, and as an extra to my experience, I will share some more pictures I couldn't squeeze into the main articles to showcase the beauty of Spain's Capital! Please enjoy! (These pics are ones I took and are my own)

4 Days in Madrid: Part 5

March 14: If I thought Friday mornings hangover was bad, this one tops it. Waking at 9am, after coming in at 6 was not a wise move. Hopping down off my bed and landing on a stranger sprawled across my floor was not a good move either. Apparently we'd found him propped up outside asleep and he couldn't find his own hostel and was part of the other college that came with our college on the trip and they volunteered he stay in my room. After stepping on him he left pretty quickly to his own hostel. I packed up pretty quickly as bending over really didn't do my stomach any justice and neither did the thought of eating croissants and doughnuts. 
Considering we had an hour before checkout, I ran out and found a little café

that sold greasy food (Best cure for a hangover, I think). The food was particularly usual, bacon, eggs and toast. And thankfully it didn't come back up. It was quiet sad when we came back to the hostel, having to check out and everyone standing waiting to go. The hostel gave us markers and allowed us to write our names on the walls (I did it about four times, in case I get famous and they want proof). We took the last trip on the Metro towards the airport, a classmate again striking up conversations with people who just wanted to get on with their business. The hustle and bustle of the airport didn't do our hangovers any justice, and my lecturer seemed pretty okay, considering I had seen her knock back a shot or two. We all checked through security and it was then that I found the door to Burger King (The emotions came again and I couldn't contain myself) I grabbed whoever was hungry and ran towards the Burger King counter, ordering the biggest burger they had. There is a reason they call it "The Whopper"... As delicious as it was at the time, it filled me up to the point where I told people to "Beware of the splash zone" in fear of exploding. 
With 10 minutes until the gate closed, the four of us ran through the airport trying to find our gate. And for any of you who have flown with Ryanair, you know how far away their gate is. Coming to our gate, I was sweating in places I didn't know I could sweat, only to find that they hadn't even begun boarding. After another thirty minutes of waiting, we boarded the plane. I got the seat next to my lecturer (Who fell asleep just after take off. So much for trying to sweet talk extra credit). The flight was awful. The pressure in the cabin left my ears popped for not only a few hours but a day or two after the flight but thankfully we landed safetly in Dublin Airport. The trip through the airport was fine, considering I usually get stopped asking for my visa papers. Exiting the arrival doors there was a guy with a sign with our names on it. I'm not going to lie, I felt quite special. It was like having a chauffeur, except you're being picked up in a bus. We stopped for another Burger King on the way home and of course I ordered something (Don't judge, I just eat  lot, okay?) and although upset about leaving Madrid, I was happy to slow down. Walked in my bedroom door and fell gracelessly into bed. 
Madrid was an absolute amazing experience, to which I thank my college for giving me the opportunity!
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- Tomorrow is my recommended Itinerary for Madrid, stay tuned!-

4 Days in Madrid: Part 4

March 13: This was our last full day in Spain and my roommates woke me. Not by talking, no, they were scarily quiet. They decided that 8am Sunday morning was an appropriate time to fumble around with plastic bags. I kinda spent an hour walking around aimlessly until my stomach decided to be hungry and went down for breakfast which was, surprise surprise, croissants and sugar glazed doughnuts. I inhaled these mini pastries until my stomach was aching and my lecturer messaged. The plan for the day seemed pretty simple and like the day before, not many people showed up but a couple more. 
As it was the last day and it was my planned day to do my souvenir shopping, I was glad when we all decided on heading to the Sunday morning market "El Rastro" which is the most popular open-air flea market in Madrid. The walk there was not as long as my lecturer made out. Being sunburned, I wasn't really feeling going stall to stall on this seemingly never-ending market. Seeing as some of the guys in the group, like myself, only wanted a few souvenirs we went to one of the less crowded souvenir stalls. I picked up a few things to keep the grandmother happy and a thing or two for my family and myself (The most important items for myself, of course). After that, a coffee break was needed. On the hour, we met back at the starting point of the market and decided that lunch was to be had, to which my lecturer had a great idea for lunch.
We strolled back towards the metro station and took it to "Atoche". We came out of the station out of breath (Those steps are chronic). The place we came to

was actually super beautiful, the Parque de Retiro to our left and Atoche Train Station in front of us, but our stomachs were too empty to take proper notice. We came to a a diner which I describe as Spanish food meets American diner. In this place, you had to shout your order at the waiter. We stood at the bar and got a snack, mine was croquetas (They're so good, let me tell you it was again, emotional). After lunch, it was a test of faith to try and cross the street to get to Atoche station. There was a lot of "Okay let's go... wait no... okay now. WAIT!" until some of us just sprinted across. The locals looked at us with that look like "Definitely Tourists. Mhmm". We decided to take a look inside Atoche Station which had been target to a bomb attack years ago and had been reconstructed. Inside was the oddest but coolest thing ever. An indoor rainforest. There were

palm trees surrounded by a lot of turtles, which I thought were fake statuettes but no there were about 100 turtles or more, just lazing about. My lecturer then telling us that she is the proud owner of 9 big tortoises back in Venezuela and her elaborate plan to smuggle them to Ireland (As you do). We exited the station, not without buying a bag of candied fruit (5 a day and all that, keep granny happy). We then tested faith again by crossing the street and came to, to me, the most famous art museum in Madrid. 
The Reina Sofia. The home of artists like Pablo Picasso (Housing his masterpiece, Guernica) and Salvador Dalí, the most famous Spanish artists of the 20th century. The art in this museum was definitely modern but impressively beautiful. Picassos work definitely unique to behold. We spent a good hour and a half in there and decided to leave. After the Art museum, the heat of the sun started to strengthen and some us felt like doing nothing but relax. We decided to head across to the Parque de Retiro (The 250+ acre park) and find a place to relax. Now when they said this place was big, I pictured a football stadium sized park. Times that by another 6 football pitches, a big pond and a lake in which you

could rent boats. We spent at least 2 hours there, just chilling out on the grass, drinking beer and taking in the sun (Some of us falling asleep, which having a sunburn, is not a good idea!). Leaving the park, the sun began to set between the trees, casting a beautiful orange glow on the whole park. The views were just something out of a movie. 
The rest of the evening consisted of beautifying ourselves for the last night in Madrid. At 9pm sharp (Punctual lecturer made sure) we all left for the same restaurant as the first night we arrived and had a different assortment of tapas. Huevos Rotos con Jamon being the key dish (Fried egg on a bed of fries and ham), chilli mushrooms, peppered rice and other various tapas. Everyone was recounting their stories of Madrid and what they enjoyed, comparing it to Ireland and if we would come back. As with the first night, a lot of wine was put in front of us, so it's safe to say not everyone was sober leaving. We left the restaurant at about 11:30pm. It was the lecturer who suggested we not let the night end now and find a bar. 
Off we went, wandering the streets of Madrid, trying to find a bar. Funnily enough, our stop was to an Irish bar with a bartender who definitely wasn't Irish. As is tradition, the first pint in an Irish pub has to be a Guinness. Three pints of Guinness, three shots of Jagermeister and three Scottish tourists in tow later, we decided to leave and find a nightclub. It took a while but eventually we came to a Salsa nightclub. The rest was pretty blurry, considering when I went in I drank 2 whiskey fishbowls and drank them myself to begin with. 2 more hours later, with sore legs and a breath tasting like vodka, it was time to leave. Stumbling home with a couple of classmates, I somehow made it to my bed!
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Stay Tuned for the last part of this Madrid Experience!

4 Days in Madrid: Part 3

March 12th: The morning was quiet similar to the day before, quiet rough. My legs still ached from the day before, not as bad but still quiet sore but sure there was no point complaining when no one was listening. Rumours were going around that the plan for the day was to cycle around the Parque de Retiro, which is a 118 hectare park, thats a solid 200 acres and more. With the state my legs were in I had to try my best to persuade my lecturer to do that at another time or I physically won't make it. 
Only four people showed up for the activities of the day (I assume banging hangovers). So we decided to go and visit the Mercado de San Miguel. An indoor market that sells fish, coffees, has a couple bars and different types of pastry counters. The market had indoor infrared heaters which somehow brought out a sunburn I didn't realise I had. I walked into the market a pale man and walked out the same colour as Patrick from Spongebob. With a little while left before we had to meet our lecturer again, the other three and myself went for a coffee down a side street. 
On the hour, we met the lecturer who had the brilliant idea to test our Spanish in the Tourist information office close by in the Plaza Mayor. The Plaza Mayor

was swarmed with people. Street vendors and people in costume dotted across the courtyard. A wedding was also happening next door to the tourist office. I was wearing blue shorts at the time and was wondering how the groom and groomsmen wore black suits, but forgot that March for Spaniards, is still winter and I managed to get burned, just my luck. We went into the tourist info office where I was directed to this poor guy who had the same look on his face that I did "Is this conversation necessary?". He wouldn't let me leave without asking a question in Spanish (I guess hostility brings out the inner Spanish or something). So, being a tourist and all, I asked "Donde estas las fiestas?" (Where are the parties?). He laughed and went on a rant about the best places to party, some of it I picked out, the rest of the conversation I was just amazed at how fast he was speaking. When he stopped I just nodded, thanked him and shuffled away uncomfortably. 
Considering there was only 4 of us, the lecturer gave us the rest of the day off as there wasn't enough people to do anything. I just thought she wanted to get rid of us to go day drinking, which was my plan. As a group, it was decided we'd go for lunch in Chuecha, the gay district of Madrid. We took the metro and came out at a lovely quaint part of town. Now when the Chuecha district was mentioned, you'd assume to see gay couples everywhere and be a stereotype but it was completely the opposite. People going about their business, having lunch and gay, straight and lesbian couples intermingling. Strolling slowly

through the streets, we came across this little restaurant and realised we were actually still hungry. It was 2pm so I ordered paella and a glass of wine (It was 5 O'Clock somewhere). The food was lovely and the atmosphere of the restaurant was kind of authentic and quaint. After the meal, the girls of the group wanted to browse at some stores, coming up the Gran Vía again. We walked into a Primark (The biggest European Primark) It was about 5 floors of clothes and other items. Like it's own department store. I had to send a picture to my sister, cause that woman should just live in Primark, she practically pays their wages. 
Tired after the feed, I left the group and walked back and took a nap in the empty hostel room for a couple of hours. It came to 8pm and I was invited out to a restaurant next door by three different classmates. A little Mexican place next door was where we dined. We ordered nachos and chimichangas (I watched Deadpool not long before and couldn't resist). The food was actually amazing, I recommend guacamole and chimichangas (My own homemade guacamole is awful however). 
After dinner we were invited to a Flamenco show by our lecturer, which seemed like an awesome idea to see real Spanish dancing. When we entered the club, we were given a free glass of Sangria (I was thoroughly impressed. I drank it like a Capri-Sun though. Another emotional moment) and the dancing started. At first, it was a show of passion and emotion. The emotions soon

turned to fear as the male dancer, with mop like hair, whenever he shook his head, a cloud of sweat drenched the front row. I felt so sorry for my lecturer, she looked absolutely disgusted, being the main recipient. The show was an hour long, and besides the clouds of sweat, the show was amazing and I strongly recommend it. 
After the show, we all went back to the hostel to chill out. A classmate and myself went to the terrace to drink whiskey and chill out. She climbed the stairs so many times she had deja vu of the Metro. Two American backpackers from Oklahoma came through the door, just off a train from Paris. Telling us their story of InterRailing through Europe, just finished college. One of them got robbed and found it funny (Whatever boats your goat). An hour passed and I decided an early night sounded better than a night out and the whiskey from earlier kinda turned my stomach from bad experience (Long story!)
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Stay Tuned for Part 4, the last part of this Madrid story!

4 Days in Madrid: Part 2

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March 11th: To say the morning was a bit rough, it was about as rough as a bears ass. The rest of my roommates and I, oddly, woke at 10am on the dot and a few of us just said "It's 10am" at the exact time (Try jinxing that one). The lecturer had been blowing up our phones with message after message "Meet at 11:30. Don't be late" every 5 minutes to ensure punctuality. I give her credit for having faith in our time keeping. We went down to the restaurant to have breakfast which consisted of croissants, sugar glazed doughnuts, coffee and water. I couldn't find the tea, which kinda got to me and all I could think about was how sad it will be to go without tea. Was a traumatic thirty seconds of thinking, let me tell you.
We met at 11:30 and told that we would be walking around to see different things in Madrid. We walked down to the Sol Plaza to meet our tour guide for the day. She

started by explaining the significance of Sol. The statue to symbolize the icon of Madrid "El Oso y El Madroño" which is a bear eating out of a tree. The tradition behind the bear is that you rub his foot to signify you'd return to Madrid. Rubbing a bears foot, surprisingly, was not as weird as the other traditions we were thought. We crossed the plaza to the real ground zero of Madrid, which was a symbol on the pavement which meant all paths lead to this point in Madrid, you placed you foot on it, again to symbolize you'd return to Madrid. We walked through the streets of Madrid and continued to a famous theatre. As impressive as the architecture of the building was, most of us were curious about where to rent a segway. Even the police has segways, it looked so cool.
We continued on towards the famed Palacio Real. The Palacio Real is the Buckingham Palace, but three times the size and less televised marriages. The palace was huge, the grounds had a nice crowd looking around and taking pictures. I asked the listing price of the palace, hoping it would be up for sale. Not only was it not for sale, I was just short of the price by about €200 million. The palace had a chapel adjoining it which was really cool, from an architectual point of view. The visit there was quick because some of the group were atheist and afraid of burning alive or something. We kept going until we came to the Plaza España, the Plaza containing a tribute to Don Quixote. We took the typical tourist pictures around the statue, as you do. Then the tour guide popped up saying "To say you are returning to Madrid, you

must rub the donkey's balls". I was amazed at how she said that with a straight face. The hardcore tourists were up molesting this poor donkey statue when the rest of us kind of brushed against the testicles, in an awkward way.
By this time (Around 1:30) we were given time off to go for lunch and look around the Gran Vía, which is main shopping street in Madrid. A few of my classmates and I had the same idea "Pizza!". As much as I wanted to experience Madrid, I couldn't have tapas for twice in 24 hours. We came to this nice little Italian restaurant. Discovered some of my classmates can't be brought out in public as they spill everything. The Spanish however, make a mean pizza, let me tell you. We finished up and headed back to meet with the rest of the group and off we went to see the Egyptian Ruins of Madrid. This place was so calm and quiet, not many people but one of my classmates did managed to chat up a woman and get advice on travelling Madrid. We didn't spend long there as my lecturer realized we were all tired from trekking around Madrid and gave us time to chill for a while. A few of us went back to the Gran Vía to look for souvenirs and get ice-cream. There was a HB ice-cream parlour, so me being a fatty, had to go in and get their largest ice-cream. I made no mistake. The rest of the afternoon was spent strolling in and out of stores, browsing, until we were called for a "surprise". Keeping in mind, my poor feet were killing me, the tour guide suggested we go to a museum. We took the metro to the museum where we met a friend of my lecturer. Another Venezuelan. These people are just beautiful, they age so well.
We waited in line for a good 45 minutes before the doors of the famous Prado museum opened. The Prado museum holds some world famous paintings from

Velazquez and Goya, to name a few. This art museum is massive, with steps and many many rooms. My legs were fit to give out at any moment as the rest of my class and tour guides took their time. The art was amazing but at this stage, my legs were just not able. We left after an hour and a half and took our time going back to the hostel where some of the people wanted to go on a night out and I just wanted to lie down. However, the group planned on going for a nice meal together, as we hadn't spent much time together on the trip. We went to a nice local restaurant and after eating the pizza earlier, all I wanted was a burger. I ordered the only burger on the menu. The woman came down with a burger, no joke, the size of baby's head. I love my food and hate seeing food go to waste, but this burger got the best of me. The atmosphere was nice and the crowd were cool (Some even photobombing our group photos with suggestive positions). After dinner I accepted losing my leg power, strolled slowly back to the hostel and chilled out on the terrace but had to leave not long after. Spain is actually super cold at night, surprisingly!
- Hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for Part 3!

4 Days in Madrid: Part 1

Everyone knows that semester 2 of a college year is probably the one that tests you the most, with more assignments, projects, reports and presentations. As a first year, I heard the rumours that second semster was "Satanic" "Super difficult and "Literally you get 100 assignments" so I honestly considered dropping out and joining a circus but then I realised I wasn't blessed with unique talent so I continued on with college. The first Spanish class of the semester came as a nice break from a really long day. In walked the glorious, Venezuelan born lecturer and she handed out the module descriptors. On the bottom was clearly labelled "Trip". So me being my nosey self popped up and asked where we were going, expecting an answer like "Galway" or "Cork" but nothing like "Oh, we're going to Madrid for a weekend". I won't lie. I cried a little bit. I passed it off as allergies, but deep down I was emotional. Kinda like when you're hungry and you think there is no food. So you check the kitchen and find dinner has been made so you weep a little. Like that. Let me tell you. March couldn't come quick enough. Assignments coming at me left, right and center, the urges to kill lecturers (Plans were made...) and dying a little more each day. The trip lasted from March 10th to March 14th. 
Let me tell you about it.
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March 10th: I had to leave my house at 7am because I had to go and get the 8am bus to Dublin Airport from Sligo Bus Station (I hate morning so much without public transport). My flight was at 13:25 because I was mistakenly booked on the earlier flight. Which I didn't mind because I thought I'd enjoy looking around. I left Dublin on time and flew with Ryanair (Ireland's budget airline god) so I expected the 2 for 1 Flight and Rollercoaster ride. The flight was actually really nice and it went by super quick. I sat beside this lovely couple who, when I asked, said they were going away for a weekend and no matter how hard I tried my mind couldn't help thinking "A dirty weekend?" and grossed myself out. I landed at 4:30 (GMT +1 for those who care) and immediately went to the "Mahoudrid" bar in the airport. Chilled there for a good hour, trying to get service on the god awful wifi as I had a 4 hour wait ahead. The first hour I spent looking around the airport for something to do. The second hour I spent trying to find a way to get into the Burger King, but couldn't find the door. This made me cry. When food is involved, it's emotional. And then the third hour I spent timing myself getting to and from the Metro platform (Current time 17 minutes). My class finally arrived at 8:30 but weren't out until 9 because they thought I loved waiting. Lovely people, I swear. So then it was up to me to show where the Metro was, because no one else had a clue. We bought ten-trip Metro tickets (Recommended for a weekend trip) and got on the Spanish Tube. After what felt like 100 stops and a million steps, honestly the metro stations have too many steps. You'd never want to exercise again. We made it to Sol. Puerta del Sol is the ground zero of Madrid. At 9:45, it was a lovely atmosphere. Not too many people, lovely lighting and there were people dance

battling. As much as I wanted to, I resisted the temptation to have a "Step Up" moment. We arrived at out hostel- Room007 (Ventura de la Vega) not too far from Sol and had about 20 minutes to change before dinner. We went through the Plaza Mayor, a beautiful little enclosed square that was also beautifully lit. We hurried through (Our stomachs were shouting at this stage) and came to this cute little corner place. We met people from the partner college that joined us from Ireland. As we sat, the waiters placed bottles and bottles of wine (Vino blanco y tinto. I Spanish), beer and water. Then came the tapas. Tortillas, patatas bravas, croquetas, paella and calamares. Now. I'm not a fan of seafood. I actually avoid the fish counter at the supermarket because I hate looking my dinner in the eyes. But battered squid rings are just so good! As we ate, the jet lag set in and we all were looking to go home. On the way, a classmate of mine asked if I'd go out. My head said no, my heart said yes and the peer pressure wouldn't allow me to go home. So I settled for "Just one". 2 new friends and 15 bottles of beer later (They were 5 for €5, it was rude not to) I stumbled in at 5am. I slept well that night!
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Stay tuned for part two!

Blogger Level: Beginner

Hey guys :)

So I've never blogged in my life! I've written some things here and there but nothing worth publishing because I practically had no proper interests but I discovered the love for Travel! I study tourism and I am learning more about the ins and outs of traveling and how to experience a place for more than a holiday! So I thought, now that I'm 18, I'll share some travel experiences I've had and make it public and give my personal recommendations.
I know there are many travel blogs out there. I have read plenty but everyone has different experiences! So here's to the start of something new (How cliché)