The first week of April 2025 would be my last week on this adventure. I left on January 12th, and it was time to return to Arizona. My Airbnb tenants were checking out, and I had a home to go back to, finally.
The plan was to hang around Italy since my flight left from Rome on April 7th.
My first day, I toured the Colosseum, and the second day was the Vatican. I did not want to spend five more days in Rome, and the train to Venice was over $200 return.
I checked out my Wizz pass to see if there was availability to depart and return within a 72-hour window. My choices were Gdansk, Poland, or Madrid, Spain. I honestly did consider Poland before I found the Madrid flight.
Ultimately, I chose Madrid so I could also visit Barcelona with a quick train ride.
There is no better feeling than booking a last-minute flight for $10 on an all-you-can-fly pass!
One minute, I am in Italy and the next day flying to Spain, watching football locals in a Madrid pub! It sure beats working for a living!!
I also like to think that I am responsible when traveling, but not this time. Once I arrived in Madrid, I was very hungry, so I went to find food. I thought there was food in the Irish pub, but only beer.
I was going to find a hostel after the game as I stayed for the whole game, plus, whoopsie!
GOOOOAAAALLLLLL!!!
After the game, slight panic started as it was after midnight, dark, rainy, and in a City I had never been to in my life. How is that for an adrenaline rush! I reset and looked for food and nailed it!
I have honestly never had Tapa’s before, as it reminds me of the foos-fos that go for Dim Sum or Sushi. Well, holy shit – I am foo fucking foo for this Tapa’s gig!! Check this out!
Pushing 2 AM, still no hostel but new friends! We pigged out on so many items!
Since it was past midnight and check-in time, I set out on foot, in the rain and half in the bag, looking for a place to sleep.
** I have a string chain around my neck with two charms, a cross and a foot for adventure. I was rubbing the cross this time, and it always works out! ***
After knocking on door after door, I came to find out that the entire City center was sold out.
Well SHIT!! This is where I do my best thinking, WTF now dumbass? Why not head to the train station, catch a high-speed train to Barcelona for $40? Perfect recovery plan!!
I was able to get a couple of hours’ sleep on the train even though it was going 300K/H. I woke up in Barcelona (huge bucket list) and I was able to find a great hostel in the city center for $30 a night. After touring the city for a couple of days, I was off to find the biggest attraction, the Barcelona FC iconic Stadium, on my last day.
Ironically, the football stadium was closed for renovations. I visited the amazing team store and do not think I have seen anything else like it in the world. It was massive:
I cannot wait to reference this memory when the new ultra-modern stadium opens. I can say, I sat in this pub pre-gaming months/years earlier, preparing for the grand opening. LOL
I had better luck when I got back to Madrid. I was able to take the metro with fans to a Real Madrid game and experience gameday. I was flying back to Rome that night, so I could not go to the game, but this was amazing enough without paying hundreds of dollars for tickets.
It was a match between Barcelona FC and Valencia, and here is a little pre-game action:
After waiting an hour walking around as fans entered the stadium, I needed to leave. I was one of the few headed the other direction on the metro as more fans arrived for the game.
It looks like I missed a great game which an exciting ending.
