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Madrid, Spain
40° 24' N 3° 41' W
May 20, 2006 23:14
Distance 66km

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Other entries in Madrid

New Company

Text written in: English

My friend Marcela joined me in Madrid thus beginning the second part of this journey including friends of mine in my travels. In the two days between my dad's departure and her arrival, I met two Australians and a Canadian in a youth hostel who all agreed that I was doing this trip the right way--having various people join me here and there so by occasionally changing my travel companion, the fun continues unmolested by lack of breathing room. I thought just making the trip was doing it the right way but now since they mention it, I guess I have to agree. While I miss fatty and wish he were still with me experiencing the adventure, its also good to keep a fresh perspective and new faces help provide that.

 

So marcela came in and we set out to explore Southern Spain after a few more days in Madrid. Unfortunately there isn't too much to see in the Spanish capitol besides a few museums, a 300 acre park, some great architecture, and the Spaniards. But since we also happened to visit during the San Isidro Festival, we could add daily bullfights to the possible sights. We wanted to cover a lot of ground in the short time we have in the country so we allotted two days to each of the cities we wanted to see. After her late arrival on the 19th, we had two days in Madrid, then two days in Sevilla, two in Cordoba, two in Granada, and then two in Barcelona. After that we train up to Paris to meet with some recently graduated USC friends. That's the plan, we will see how it pans out.

 

One day we decided to take a day trip to Toledo because we had heard good things and it was only about an hour and some change by bus from Madrid. Trying to keep to a tight budget, especially with the exorbitant prices of Europe (1.60 Euro for a daily necessity like ice cream), we filled our bellies with grocery store bought sandwich meats and the appropriate fixins. By the way, a 85 euro cent mustard squeeze bottle has become more useful than a passport in recent days. I couldn't possibly count all the uses. So Toledo was nice, old, and had lots of sights to see and tourists to see them. But one of them was closes for reasons unknown, and the other main one was a church that wanted us to pay so we just went through the congregation entrance for free. But we mostly enjoyed just walking around the historic town. It is a maze of intertwined cobble stone streets dividing the eternally connected buildings and homes. I really like how in most cities here, the whole block is one contiguous construction, I think it just adds another element of community and history.

 

The next morning was Sunday and the only day to El Rastro, the weekly flea market, to check out if the street vendors of Madrid had anything to offer to my packrat stash. It was extensive and packed, and I even saw many items I recognized from other parts of the world like many paintings and tapestries from India, antiques I had seen in argentina, some asian collectables, and even some British and American vinyl records. But the prices were just a bit too high for me to make room for bulky items so I passed on all available items.

 

After that we grabbed a bite to eat and went to El Retiro, the hunting ground turned public park just to walk around and people watch. Since it was Sunday, it was hectic but provided many opportunities for humorous and interesting viewings. There was a spot near the lake that included two Minnie Mouse characters making balloon animals but worry not, kids could distinguish between the twins by noting their different colored polka dot dresses. There were street performers, magicians, and those temporarily installed human statues. We went to an art exhibit enclosed in a glass building that was really only one sculpture: simply putting mirrors on every inch of the floor. The novelty was cool but whenever I look at modern art sculptures like these, I just wonder why. Yeah its cool to look at but I guess I just don't get it. I usually look for art to have some tangible meaning or explanation. This just was a cool looking arrangement of man made objects. Ill post some pictures and you can decide for yourself. If you come up with something, please let me know what you think.

 

From there we went to the bullfight arena, Plaza del Torros, and bought some mixed nuts and some drinks to take in for occasional relief from the intensity of the glaring sun. this being my second time at the fights in 4 days, I felt like an expert and was able to provide explanation to a few confused spectators nearby. And i also found out that the day I went with my dad, we must have seen a rare day because on that day, we witnessed three matadors get horned and trampled and a few bulls receive delayed death sentences when the matador messed up and missed his target. This time with marcela, every fight went as planned; no one got trampled, every bull was killed on the first or second attempt, and it was a much less exciting and entertaining spectacle. One bull had serious gusto however. he defied his tormentors by running around ignoring their temptations, then when it was "his time" and the matador injected the sword into his back, he still ran around for a good five minutes causing the crowd to cheer and salute this brave animal. we stayed till the end always rooting for the bull and cringing when the horses got charged. I definitely grew an appreciation for the sport and the excitement that surrounds it. I would happily see it again.

 

But as for Madrid, it's a city ive seen and would probably not see again. Its not a bad city, just not worth a second visit. You can see everything you need/want to in about 2 days and im sure that other Spanish cities have more to offer in terms of historical sites, local feels, and all around good times.