Madrid...again!!

Back in Madrid, i did a lot of the same things, tapas, going out and a lot of time in the gluten free bakery so I won't give you a blow by blow explanation of my three days here but instead will tell you a little story of my experience with the Carboneras nuns, or as i call them 'The holy cookie ladies.' The last time I was here I was told about these nuns and all you needed to do was ring the buzzer and ask for cookies. At the time it was closed for summer but now that it was open, even though I was highly allergic to cookies I had to check it out. I apprehensively approached the door and pressed the buzzer, not knowing if it was real or a joke as it was merely a small door in a giant unlabelled building. In a few seconds though my fears were allayed as a small voice piped up and said, Hola? I replied in atrocious Spanish, 'una cookie porfavor' but they were clearly used to tourists with shocking Spanish and to my surprise the door in front of me suddenly opened on its own, with no person in sight. I hesitantly walked through the door and looked around and I was walking through the convent. It was very strange and eery because despite being beautiful, it was silent and no nuns were in sight. These nuns are reclusive and therefore live their entire lives within the convent walls and can never leave or interact with the outside world (except to sell cookies). Due to this small barrier I wasn't sure how the purchase would take place if we couldn't see each other but the answer lay with a spinning wheel and a price list tacked to the wall, at the end of the long hallway. I scanned the list and didnt really care which cookies i had considering I wouldn't be able to eat them and then feeling like an idiot said I'm here!! to a wooden wall. It worked though and in seconds the turntable was spun and the cookies they had that day were all displayed. I opted for the cheapest (and I'm sure nicest) option, told the anonymous person, put money on top and watched it spin away from me. Moments later, my cookies were boxed and in a bag and my change was waiting next to me. It was such an interesting experience, one I regretted I didn't film! If you are ever in Madrid I would recommend it to everyone for a novel thing to do, and according to my host mum in Salamanca, to get some extremely tasty treats!