Part Six: Madrid!

Hola, hola, hola. How is everyone? Well, I hope! I write you now from Salamanca, where I traveled to today from Madrid. That means that this post will be all about Madrid. I had a good time in Madrid and I really enjoyed the city. It was interesting to compare the differences between the smaller, northern cities of San Sebastian and Bilbao to the larger, more bustling Madrid.

So, getting to Madrid fell along the same lines that most of my other travel days have. Turned out, that somewhere along the line between Bilbao and Madrid it had snowed the night before. Countries here that don´t expect snow really don´t know what to do when it happens (see the U.K. a week ago). For some reason, snow means that trains will not run which I have never quite understood. Does anyone know why even just a little snow that probably does not stick to the tracks keeps a huge, powerful train from moving? Seems weird to me.

Because of said snow, we were all put on a bus to a station up in Burgos, further into the mountains. I had a helper again, a middle aged woman who had been visiting her family in Bilbao but was headed back home to Madrid. She was very nice and kept me updated on what was going on. The bus ride actually turned out to be really cool and I didn´t mind that I wasn´t on the train. We went up through the mountains, part of the time in the snow, and I got to see more of the vast geography of Spain. More little towns and farms and random dilapidated structures.

When we got out of the bus it was freezing! I had not expected it. Waiting on the platform for the new train was quite a chilly experience. But, luckily, I didn´t have to wait long and soon I was safely on the train. Much like the bus ride, the train ride yielded great sights as well. I always take out a book as if my attention isn´t going to be turned out the window the whole time and, not surprisingly, I rarely read more than a few pages. But the views were spectacular.

Something strange happened along the way. Somehow, despite the fact that the bus left after the train was supposed to and we had to wait in Burgos, the train only arrived five minutes later than scheduled. Seems like maybe I should have just taken a bus from the beginning or something. I dunno, it doesn´t make any sense but I won´t waste any more time talking about it because I got there after all!

I wandered into the train station and went to the ticket office first. I have discovered that it is much easier to buy a ticket for my next departure while at the train station rather than venturing out again during my visit. Next ticket securely put away, I found my way to the metro and took a long ride into the center of the city. My hostel was in Puerta del Sol, right near the Plaza Mayor, and it turned out to be a great location. I was within walking distance to pretty much everywhere I wanted to go.

After setting my stuff down, I set out to get my first sights of the city. I was eager to see what the city was all about because I had heard all sorts of different reviews from different people. Luckily, the weather was sunny and not too cold so walking was rather enjoyable. Right in the square of Puerta del Sol, there was a lot going on. All sorts of little bands, clowns, and street performers were everywhere. I leisurely walked through and set out on my way towards the Jardin del Buen Retiro. If I translate correctly, that means the garden of good rest, and it is a huge park with lots of sights to see. It was formerly the hunting ground for the royal family but some nice king along the way turned it into a park for the people.

In the center is a large, rectangular man-made lake with a big monument on one side. Many people had rented little rowboats which made for entertaining watching. The wind had started to pick up and it was clear that most of the people were not avid rowers. This led to a jam of about five or six boats in one corner, far from where they needed to return to the upwind dock, all stuck. I walked around for a bit and then went to watch what was going on around the monument.

I spotted two people playing soccer, though they weren´t very good. It got exciting when this large group of women from the Netherlands came over and asked the two men if they could play. Of course, the men obliged, and the women jumped right in. I swear, they must have been sort of national team or something. They were so good! They juggled in all sorts of different fashions: off feet and knees, their backs and heads. It was so fun to watch. As more people crowded around, more joined in. Soon enough, a group of perfect strangers were all joining in a game together. This coincided with another happening along the benches where people sat and watched. When I got there, one man was playing a bit on a drum. As the soccer game grew, so did the drummers. First one, then two, and by the end five! The music, mixed with the soccer game, made for such a fun lively environment and I really enjoyed it.

A little while later, I left to do some more wandering. I ended up back at my hostel to catch up on a few things. Unfortunately, it was then that I was introduced to the large group of kids I was sharing the Hostel with. They turned out to be all students in Syracuse University´s program in London who had escaped to Madrid for the weekend. They were quite drunk (It was only around 5:30 p.m.!) and were getting in all sorts of arguments about who knows what. I got better insight into who they were when two of the girls stumbled into the room when I was getting ready to go to bed. One passed out but the other was intent on talking... and talking... and talking. She let me know about all sorts of great things like how her parents were cutting her money off because she broke the golden rule. Apparently, when she left for London they told her she could spend all the money she wanted on food, alcohol, and travel. The one thing she couldn´t to was buy clothes. She bought clothes. I think she was trying to elicit some sort of sympathy but well, I just didn´t have any for her.

In between my break in the hostel and the obnoxious girl, I wandered some more, got myself some tapas, and then headed back. On my wander I saw one of the coolest street act things I have ever seen. It was a guy who did ¨spray art.¨What he did was take a shiny white board, spray on it with spray paint. He would then cover different parts depending on the landscape. Then he had a variety of techniques: sometimes he would press newspaper on and pull it off, sometimes scrape away the paint, and sometimes spray his hands and smugde or flick paint. The end result was, no lie, an image that looked computer generated. It was amazing.

I headed back to the hostel and when that girl finally quieted down I was able to fall asleep. I awoke the next morning and, like in most European cities on Sundays, it was the day of markets. Madrid´s markets were huge and filled with all sorts of crazy stuff. The vendors yelled and tried to out yell each other about whatever they were selling. It was generally a pretty good time and I managed to make it through with no threats of pick pocketing which I had heard happen all to often at the market.

I wandered back towards the direction of the park afterwards. Much to my surprise, I stumbled upon some sort of small parade. There were guys carrying what looked like a statue of a saint, lots of people dressed up, and a marching band! I followed them a bit into the park where there was a podium set up. I have no idea what the celebration was of. Some saint I think. But it was fun to see all the costumes and hear the music. I departed and walked along the park again. I really love the amount of life I experienced there. Everywhere, people were playing games, playing music, and generally appeared to just be enjoying themselves. I loved it. I found myself some lunch afterwards, which was pretty good. I actually had something that I cannot identify at all. The closest thing I can find online is some sort of kale type vegetable. It was interesting. I also had a fish filet that was quite good.

It was back to the hostel after that to call Catherine! Much to my great surprise and delight, I got an email from my friend Catherine that she was in Madrid for the weekend. I had no idea! She is studying this semester in Cordoba, but her orientation is a 10 day trip through Spain and she just happened upon Madrid at the same time as me. I love those foreign country coincidences. We decided to meet up to do a little exploring and then get some food. We went to the Prado Museum briefly because it was free. I say briefly because the crowds and the fact that it was about a million degrees in there shortened our visit.

We walked a little while longer and then met some of her friends from the program for a bit. After that, we found ourselves a tapas bar and got some food. It was there that I had another great culinary first. I ordered gambas a la plancha, shrimp cooked on the grill, and was delighted to find them just as I expected: whole with the heads on. I had seen the eating process on t.v. I now know, that when they say that the heads are the best part that they are correct. What you do is break the heads off and then suck all the juice out with a very unattractive slurping sound. They were SO good! They were perfectly cooked, served with a bit of lemon, and so fresh. They had the texture of lobster which was amazing! Catherine and I lingered a while and I had my first taste of sangria in Spain, and then we departed. It was so fun to see her and to catch up and talk about traveling and Spain! Woo. I headed to bed, a little easier to sleep that night as the crazy girl was gone.

The next day I visited the Rena Sofia art museum which may be one of my favorites so far. It had an extensive collection of Picasso and some great Dali and Miro. The highlight was certainly getting to see Picasso´s ¨Guernica¨which was truly great. Seeing how he worked and all the preparatory drawings and paintings he did before a final one is so amazing to observe. I also really enjoyed two photography exhibits. I have seen tons of paintings and sculptures in Europe, but photography is one thing that I have not seen a lot of. I really enjoyed the fact that there was a focus on it at this particular museum.

After that it was lunch time. I found a great little place and had some fantastic food. I started with a white bean and baby clam stew in a light tomato, saffron broth. The beans were delicious and the clams super tender. I had never had beans that big or that good before. Then, I had some steak! I had been eating so much seafood that I was starting to crave some steak. It was just a well cooked, well seasoned piece of beef - very simple - and was very satisfying. I finished the meal with arroz con leche, a rice pudding, that I really enjoyed. It was so moist and thick with a perfect sweetness to it and a generous dash of cinnamon. I also enjoyed a bottle of fantastic Rioja wine.

All the food and the wine made me finally give in: I had my first siesta. It was glorious and I see why people love it so much. I awoke a bit confused but very, very satisfied. I wandered the streets a while again and then, because I had such a huge lunch, I knew only needed one little tapa and a beer and I would be set for the evening. I found a nice little place, got a beer, and ordered a tapa of jamon iberica. It was the first real pure taste of ham I have had and it was great. Sweet, smoky, thin sliced, and very satisfying. It also came with a small portion of morcilla, blood sausage, which was really good. Very moist and smoky.

So, yeah, that was most of my time in Madrid. I enjoyed it a lot. There really was a lot of life going on and some great things to see. I have been in Salamanca for a bit now and I am liking it a lot. It is nice to be in a bit smaller of a city again and it is a very pretty one. I spend another night here and then it is off to Cordoba. Things are going really well and I am having a blast. Spain is where it is at! I really love it. Can´t wait to eat and see more sights. More from me in a few days, after I bounce on out of Salamanca and on my way. That´s all for now. Hope all is well!