Madrid does have a beach!

I've been here for over 7 weeks now and feel like I'm starting to know the city quite well, gradually turning into a madrileña, but the city never ceases to amaze. A common thing for people to say is "Madrid's got everything but it needs a beach" so on Sunday I met up with a friend who took me to one. I had no idea where he was taking me but at the door there was this sign...

... to which I didn't think much - "Oh, it must be a beach-themed bar". It did help prepare me for when we walked in and the whole floor was covered in sand though! The bar's called Areia and is near Alonso Martinez metro station if anyone fancies going along. They do do really good cocktails and it's quite surreal to be walking in sand inside a bar miles and miles away from the sea. 

Loads of comfy cushions lower down to the floor too!

We also went to San Antón market round the corner where there's a rooftop terrace with a bar. This is also a very nice place made even more entertaining by the drunken Irish girls we ended up talking to!

Roof terrace bar

Not really sure what the coloured pigs were for!

It was nice to go along to these places and relax after a busy Saturday. I have recently made friends with the other au pairs in the complex as well as a babysitter and an au pair in another area of Madrid so we all met up for a wander around the city on Saturday. It was so nice to not be doing solo sightseeing for once and I felt so knowledgeable taking them to places they'd never been before like inside the cathedral and the Campo del Moro gardens. Because of being with people, there were probably more photos taken of me on Saturday than the rest of my time in Madrid! In the evening we went to intercambio, as I'd been raving about it so much, before heading onto an "Irish" pub/club for the rest of the night and dancing to reggaeton (yes, definitely Irish). 

My friend Maryn and I in front of the cathedral

Maryn and I in front of the Madrid bear (taken with Maryn's phone)

Me, Dyanna and Lavinia in front of the Royal Palace in El Campo del Moro (taken with Dyanna's camera)

Maria Jesus, me, Dyanna, Sarah and Lavinia in Star Studio 54 (taken with Dyanna's camera)