Madrid: A Summary

by annie

We've written a lot so far on our time in Spain, but want to dedicate a post specifically towards our favorite parts of Madrid. Apologies in advance for the length.

Museo Reina Sofia
On a rainy windy Saturday afternoon, we woke up late, ate at a vegetarian restaurant and walked briskly to the Reina Sofia where we took advantage of free admission. We perused the works of Picasso, Diego Rivera, Dalì, etc, but my favorite section was a temporary exhibit of Paul Thek, an American known as the ¨artist's artist.¨For dying young, he produced an immense collection, ranging many different mediums. He is well known for his created environments and community pieces that attempted to bridge the gap between artists and viewers, making it more accessible. I especially connected with his colorful paintings, done on newspapers from the 70´s, with headlines and yellowed edges peeking out. It was interesting to be in Spain, admiring the work of an American artist, especially since he only had one big show in the US- Chicago, 1998.

El Parque de Retiro
We anxiously awaited the day when we could hang out in el Parque de Retiro, and once it came, we couldn't stop going back. On our first visit, we entered the park off of a busy Madrid street, having walked from Ben's house. Within a few minutes, the trees surrounded us and the noisy street had faded into the distance. We made our way to the Crystal Palace to meet our friend, Brieana. The park is huge, so we had to consult the city map to find the palace within the park. The sun was beaming and we happily awaited Brieana in the grass. We spent hours in the park, discussing Spanish history, the Basque terrorist group ETA and caught up on our lives in between.

The next day, Brian and I returned for a picnic in the sun, ice cream and a lazy
boating adventure. We found the many teenagers on the lake amusing, especially when they would get into arguments and try to attack each other with their row boats- yelling angrily, paddling vigorously and still moving towards each other at a very slow pace, while guards on shore repeatedly blew their whistles for them to stop. Hilarious.

Afterward, we took a long walking tour, visiting the neighborhoods of Chueca, Malasana, Bilboa and many others. We got lost for an hour in the midst of it, ate a cheap dinner of falafel and made our way back to Lavapies on sore and tired feet. Our favorite falafel comes from a restaurant in Lavapies called Habibi- they cook it fresh to order and serve it with yummy tahini sauce, instead of a ketchup & mayonnaise-like sauce that many other places use. Plus, a wrap costs a mere 3.50 Euros.

Madrid culture
We walked everywhere in Madrid. Even though they have a fantastic public transportation system, and the cleanest Metro I've ever seen, we hardly used it at all. Madrid culture is extremely laid back. People sleep late, shops close in the middle of the day for siesta and everything happens at a slow, slow pace. The people there smoke a lot and eat lots of fried foods, ham, and bread. They are extremely friendly and talk a lot! We enjoyed taking trips to the traditional markets (trying not to gape at the pig testicles, intestines and cow brains proudly displayed in various meat markets) and found that buying food from specialized markets was not only fresher, but also cheaper. We even saw an entire baby pig face for sale.

Each Sunday, vendors set up in el Rastro for the biggest street fair I've ever seen. It's probably three or four times the size of Saturday Market in Portland. Entire streets were blocked off and completely filled with people. Making our way through the crowds was challenging, but fun. It didn't have much of a tourist vibe, and seemed to be packed with locals.

Jardines del Campo del Moro

We had walked all over Madrid by the time we made our way to the Jardines del Campo del Moro. Set at the foot of the Royal Palace, it's the home to many winding walking paths, peacocks and nice views of the palace. We didn't want to walk much because our feet needed a rest. So we searched for a spot of prime real estate- grass and sun- so that we could rest. Mostly trees and landscaped areas, the garden didn't seem to welcome nappers, which we realized later was entirely on purpose. We spotted a nice patch of sunny grass and daisies, but it happened to be just beyond a low chain. We decided to take the risk, and settled in to a light snooze.

Within 10 minutes, we heard a loud honk followed by a peacock squawk. I glanced up to see a guard yelling out the window of his car in Spanish. Another guard sat on his motorcycle motioning us down. We made our way towards them, shamefully stepping back over the chain to greet them.

They lectured us in Spanish, they wore funny hats, they took our names and our birthdays. They told us that they saw us on video surveillance stepping over the chain into the restricted area. They told us the chain was there for a reason. They displayed the sternest of faces.

It was perhaps the only time so far that I appreciated my inability to speak the language. It was easier to just stand there and look sheepish while Brian managed the situation.

We still wanted a nap, so we made our way to a non-chained patch of grass, with no signs or any other indication that we couldn't sit there... until we heard the now-familiar honk behind us and watched, exasperated, as the guard wagged his finger. He then proceeded to ride around the entire park honking at anyone and everyone that was sitting anywhere but on a bench. By that point, we felt pretty unwelcome and ready to leave, but stuck around a little longer for some peacock watching.

We've been enjoying Aranjuez since Monday and will post about it soon.