I went to Madrid about four years ago when I took another Spain trip with my High School but it was a bit different and the years can certainly change things! I’m almost positive that I saw many of the same things on this trip as I did then, but it was still worth it and we did get to do so much!
Anyhow, for starters we left our hostel and took the short metro ride to El Retiro, Madrid’s version of Central Park. With wide, sprawling pathways, vendors selling helado and other snacks, a central pond for rowing, and a fabulous location in the scope of the city and the sights, I could imagine myself spending many an afternoon here had I attended college in Madrid. It offers a very nice respite from the oppressive heat (it was near 100 degrees today) as well as the traffic and noise of the metropolis surrounding it.
The pond contained many, many, many carp, some leaping fully out of the water, and it was very hard for me to resist going back to the hostel to get my fishing rod and try my luck. I, however, decided that fishing for carp in a man-made pond in the middle of the heat was probably not as important as seeing the city of Madrid.
Next we got some lunch and headed in the direction of the Reina Sofia, the Spanish equivalent to the MOMA in New York or any other extensive collection of fine art. The exhibits were very nice and, although I didn’t get all of them, there was a very extensive collection and free admission for students was definitely within our budget. To top it all off at the Reina Sofia we got to see the famous Guernica painting by Picasso detailing the events surrounding the town in northern Spain during the Spanish Civil War in a very Picasso-esque style.
Next we walked to the Atocha Renfe train station to take the subway to the Palacio Real, or Royal Palace of Madrid. Our goal was to just see how the line was and at least take some pictures outside and when we got there we were dismayed because the long line at the door meant that we would probably have to wait too long to get in. Wednesdays are free for locals of Madrid to visit so the line, we assumed, was full of Madrileños looking to have a nice afternoon. We snapped some pictures and sat in the shade to at least read about the palace from our Rick Steve’s Kindle guidebook. We ended up liking what we read, especially the parts about the Royal Pharmacy (mostly for Brian) and the Armory (for both of us) so we decided to get in there an see it while we were in the vicinity. A reduced student rate (from 8 euros to 5) again helped persuade us and we had enough time to see a good chunk of what we wanted and still be ready to move to the next sight. Here are some legal and illegal photos of the Palacio, home of the Spanish Royal Family for hundreds of years.
Finally, after contemplating the awesomeness that was the Palacio, we were ready for our last official sight. The other major museum in the city of Madrid, housing one of the most impressive painting collections in the world, is El Prado. Located in the heart of the city, this museum hosts paintings, many of which belonged to Spanish Royalty, by Goya, Velazquez, El Greco, and even non-Spanish painters like Brueckner. I don’t know the history of the museum but I do know that my free-after-6PM entrance was a great time and it was very gratifying to be able to close the place down and see some true masterworks. It was forbidden to even enter the museum with cameras so I couldn’t even take covert photos, but you’ll just have to trust me on this one and make it out to Madrid to see for yourself.
As we walked out of the museum we sat down on the stones still warmed from the Spanish sun and contemplated all we had seen and done. Thoughts of Italy didn’t even enter my head but as I write this I know that this has been an amazing journey which I will remember forever. So many senses have been evoked and yet the intangibles like being able to feed ourselves for a month, traveling hundreds of miles, and still seeing sights we planned on seeing became just as obvious as the warmth of the sun and the smell of the trees. We didn’t even have to talk to each other to know that we were having a mild epiphanic moment where everything had been encapsulated and summarized in the briefest of glimpses. Somehow the beauty of the art and the character of the city of Madrid just brought it all out in the open.
As we strolled happily back to the hostel we looked forward to our final dinner to celebrate our time on the Iberian Peninsula. We asked the host of the hostel where he recommended and we made it to a great Galician (region in Northwest Spain) restaurant just down the road. We had four courses of delicious Spanish food, starting with Galician stew, moving onto some excellent chorizo, then the main course of a 400gram medium rare steak with fried potatoes. Finally we split Galician honey crepes and some cheese with walnuts and honey for dessert. We paid only 55 euros total so for about $45 per person we had a great meal in a great atmosphere celebrating our triumphant deviation!
At about 12:30AM we rolled back into the hostel and packed up and made ready to set off. We wanted to leave the hostel in the morning by 8AM so that we could get to the airport in plenty of time for our 11:30AM departure so now it’s time to sleep!
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