Solo Trip in Spain | One week in Spain as a woman traveling alone

After 15 hours on the plane, I'm finally here! Spain here I come! 

As a solo female traveler - and on budget - I decided to choose to stay at Hostal Oriente located right next to Opera Metro Station. I never stayed at a hostel before, but this one definitely surpassed my expectations! It's more like a boutique hotel, really. The room was so beautiful and cozy it reminded me of home.

There was a private bathroom too. I paid 140 Euros for my 3-night stay, I have never been happier with my hotel choices! I definitely will keep a more open mind when choosing lodging for my next destination!

Hostels are great!

My cosy room

I took a quick walk from the hostel to Plaza de Sol, very lively with lots of shops and restaurants.

Spanish people are very friendly. I asked them for directions all the time, and even though they didn't speak English, somehow we managed to communicate through sign language and lots of smiles!

One time, I asked a guy and he didn't know where the place was; he literally stopped a police car that was driving past, and asked them for me! When the policemen didn't know it either, they opened a map to figure it out. Like an actual folded paper map, not one on the smartphone. I was so grateful and overwhelmed by their kindness!

Is Spain safe? As a solo female traveler, I was worried too before I embarked on this trip to Spain. But being here, I felt very safe. 

And I was falling in love with Spanish people and the city by the minute!

Toledo
As I was exploring the city, I was handed out a brochure of a tour company close to Plaza Oriente. I decided to show up at their office at 8.30 am in the morning and see if any tours were available. I ended up buying a full-day trip to Toledo. Looking back, it was a bit impulsive, and booking in advance might be a better option as I'd have more time to check the reviews and see if the schedules suit me. 

Toledo represented so well the integration of many religious beliefs. There are Christian cathedrals, Muslim mosques, and Jewish synagogues - all in the same city! Some stones were 1000 years old. Can't believe I actually walked on them!

There were about fifteen people on the tour, which was nice because we all got to talk to one another. There was a couple from New Mexico celebrating their 30th anniversary whose daughter is a dancer for Madonna. The wife was so happy, lively and fun you couldn't tell she was in her sixties.

There were a few solo travelers just like myself from Germany and Puerto Rico. The German guy was in Spain to learn Spanish because he planned to travel to South America by himself next year. I thought that was very brave to be travelling alone to a place you don't speak the language! It was so interesting to hear stories and experiences of people whom you would never have met otherwise. 

​When you're all by yourself, travelling the world, it actually makes you realize that - outside the fierce meeting rooms - there is so much love, joy and kindness in this world. Friendships formed within hours: laughter and storytelling just went around as though we were old friends reunited. Before the tour was over, we even exchanged hugs! Isn't it amazing? That concludes my "solo" trip for today! ​

Toledo

​Avila and Segovia
Before I went on the trip, I already booked a full-day tour to Avila and Segovia online through Viators.com. I was very happy to find out that the point of meeting was actually 5 minute walking from the hostel. By the way, when you buy tours in Spain, there are rarely hotel pickups; you have to meet them at their tourist offices. Oh, I forgot to mention: after my Toledo trip the day before, I finally got myself a SIM card. It cost only 15 Euros (be careful though, at the airport, there was a booth that sold the exact same SIM card for 90 Euros! Don't buy it there! ) It was very helpful for someone who has no sense of directions such as myself. I simply let Google Maps guide me. I never had to ask for directions again in the remaining days in Spain :)

The tour was organized by Julia Travel. It must be quite well-known because there were like a hundred people on this tour. The guide was amazing. She has a degree in art history, and could speak four languages! And best of all, she made history come to life!

The first stop was Avila. I loved how the city was walled. But, really, after you had been to Toledo, it's hard to find a place that can match its astounding beauty. We went to the Catedral of Avila.  It was amazing to finally visit the place where St. Teresa had once lived in  - after having read her book in college. The weather was quite chilly today, about 2 degree Celsius.

On the way back to the tour bus, as I was looking at the Cathedral in awe, one of the guys in the tour asked if I would like a picture with the place. I said sure, and the conversation started from there. He was from Mexico but worked in the States. It was quite cool that he was travelling alone as well and was basically in Spain only for a soccer match! I would never travel so far just for a sport event - or for a concert or anything whatsoever. But we had some very interesting conversations and exchanged Linkedin contacts. Another friendship formed :)
 
Then we went to Segovia. This city is breathtakingly beautiful. I loved every minute of it! There were many shops and restaurants. I could easily spend the whole day here. But since I was with a tour, I had only a few hours to rush through places. The best part was the Roman Aqueduct, 2000 years old. The majestic formation of this architecture just makes you feel so small as you stand underneath it, looking up. 

The Aqueduct

Retiro Park, Museum de Prado, Palacio de Cibeles, Temple of Debod

​Yesterday I switched to another hotel about 20 minutes from the center of Madrid. The place is called Hesperia Madrid, a five-star hotel. I booked it based on the many great reviews on many websites. It really was comfortable and luxurious. 
 
Well, I could only try so hard to blend in with the locals... I don't speak Spanish and basically I am an Asian... in a bus of 30 passengers, I was the only one with dark brown hair.

I spent 6 years in New York, and had never felt this self-conscious before.

Anyways, the metro system in Madrid is very efficient and simple. It costs 1.5 euros for each ride.

There's a screen at the platform telling you precisely how many minutes until the next train arrives and the destinations. It's the same system for bus stops as well.

​With such a friendly system, even I managed to get around the city by public transportation quite easily, and did not get lost even once.

My first stop today was Retiro Park. I got there by metro and the park is right in front of me.

This was one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen! There was a big lake with a small plaza of its own. The best part was the Crystal Palace; kind of like a green house with no plants in it.

​It was so ethereal that the word Paradise came into my mind as I looked at it.

​Then I walked to Museum de Prado. Quite a painful trip! It was 40 minutes of walking from the Crystal Palace while the temperature was 5 degree Celsius. Maybe there was an easier way, and Google Maps took me through detours; but with my sense of directions - i.e. non-existent - I'd rather follow the Maps like a religion...

Looking back, I could've saved myself the time and energy by getting on one of those hop-on-hop-off buses, and also enjoyed the view of the beautiful city, but oh well.... 

The Museum was worth the pain though! I had no pictures of it as it was a bunch of paintings, and no photos allowed inside (also, no selfie sticks). I visited an exhibition of portraits by Jorge Ingles, a Spanish painter from 15th century. I had always loved arts; but his works took my passion to a new level!

He was commissioned by many high status clients. His portraits were... alive... you look at their countenance and expressions, then suddenly, you are transported back in time; suddenly it was as though you were an invisible observer watching them in their unguarded moments. You could feel their characters.

It was a surreal experience. I spent hours just in this exhibition alone. Thanks to my Art Humanities class in college, my experience was tremendously enriched!

The next destination was Palacio de Cibeles.

Inside, there was a rooftop restaurant. Other floors were something that looked like libraries with cozy reading corners. Anyways, this is where you can see the view of Madrid. It costs 2 euros to go up to the rooftop; it was so worth it!
 ​

Palacio de Cibeles

 As I had some time left before I left for the airport, I decided to stop by Temple of Debod; quite at the opposite part of the city. About 20 minutes by bus and a bit of walking.

​It was interesting... pretty much the picture below was all there was to the park. There was another large fountain, but nothing spectacular. The view from here, just like everything else in Madrid, was breathtaking!

Temple of Debod

That about sums up my one week in Spain. It was one of the best solo trips I have made. 
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It was a wonderful experience in many aspects: traveling solo, experiencing new cultures, and seeing new sights.

​After a week here, I felt that the negative reputations the country receives regarding thieves and pickpockets were unfair and unjustified. You need to exercise caution wherever you go anyway. This country is no more dangerous than other places in the world. I will definitely have to go back again to visit other parts of this beautiful country! Adios!