Having been fortunate enough for my best friend to be on her year abroad in Madrid, it didn't take me long to book my flight to the city. My first time also! Strangely enough, a good friend actually flew us there by complete coincidence, which was both very frightening (as he is only a few months older than me) but also something I was very proud of.
We were so lucky to have a real student resident show us around Madrid, it meant we found ourselves far away from the mass concrete, anonymous side of the city, which I can imagine is what happens to most tourists. Instead, we embraced vast markets in the early hours, amazing bar-shops (where you sat on the oddest furniture, which after a few mojitos everyone was able and tempted to buy), tested tapas in miniscule rustic restaurants, and generally strolled from park to restaurant to cafe to bar, mesmerised by the beauty of the little streets and the population itself.
We went for only a few days, but on one night it was Carnival, (I have experienced Rio in Carnival season, so I always have high expectations) however, Madrid's version involved a surreal collection of characters parading the main roads, ranging from Lord of the Rings-esque creatures, to belly dancers, to Chinese dragons, to frightening aliens. It was a really diverse, very strangely organised event. There was no beginning, no middle, and an awkward finish. We spent the entire parade, laughing hysterically in the dark at the absurdity and lack of congruence apparent in the whole thing.
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