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Published: March 24th 2013
Today is my last full day in Madrid and so I knew that I had to pack quite a lot in to make sure that I had seen everything I had my heart set on. I think that with any trip you plan those "absolute must see things" and also a few "would have been nice to see but I ran out of time". In my case, there are a few of the latter but all in all I am quite happy with the amount of sights that I have been able to fit in in four and a half days. Actually it is pretty astounding that I have been able to fit in four cities/towns in four and half days and still manage to see quite a bit in Madrid or at least the things that were of interest to me.
My day began with the sad event of reserving my cab to the airport. Because my flight is so early, the hotel shuttle nor the metro will be able to be my mode of transportation back to the hotel. From there, I headed to the train station (now a very familiar route) and purchased my ticket to San Lorenzo del Escorial. The train rides to Toledo and Arenjuez had been less than exciting so I was not expecting much this time around although I was going in a completely different direction. Once you leave Madrid, the scenery changes quite drastically and your view becomes that of mountains with small towns or villages dotted in the distance. The area is still quite dry and therefore the scenery is far from being called lush and green. It's beautiful in its own way though.
The train ride was actually quite peaceful with relatively frequent stops in these little towns. Of course as I have become my mother, I sit there and ponder where these people do their groceries and the like. Then it happened ... I had seen this older woman enter the train in Madrid. She seemed like the perfect Spanish little grandmother ... quiet as a mouse. Well not so ... about halfway through the trip and in our semi-filled train car, she starts on a rant and quite loud at that. Nobody seemed to pay her no mind and I would have loved to know what on earth she was going on about. And then she stopped as quickly as she started, got off the train and again no one really acknowledged her. I seem to attract these kinds of incidents on trips, having come across a demonstration in Bangkok and I did not mention it in an earlier blog but there was actually a small demonstration at the foot of the Catedral in Toledo.
When I arrived in San Lorenzo, I spared myself the 2 kilometer walk to the Monastery. I am fully aware that 2 kilometers is actually really nothing, hell I did it in the blink of an eye in the Do It For Dad Family Run and Walk but THAT was on a flat surface. Getting to the Monastery is all uphill and my calves have yet to recover from Toledo (although that I am convinced that the constant going up and down stairs in the metro is actually the culprit ... I will have calves of steel by the end of this trip!).
The Monastery is really the main attraction in San Lorenzo. It is enormous with a main facade of 700 feet, 15 cloisters, 16 kilometres of corridors, 86 stairways, 88 fountains, 1,200 doors and 2,675 windows. The tour obviously does not take you through the entire complex but it is quite long enough for you to get a really nice feel of the surroundings.
The Architecture Museum is made up of 11 rooms and contains architectural designs, scale models and different tools used during the construction of the monastery. It is located in the basement area and the rooms add to the aura in that it is arched doorways, large stone walls and stoned floors. It actually feels like you are walking around a dungeon.
You then continue through a series of rooms where a huge collection of paintings are displayed. At one point, you reach the Hall of Battles. This is a long room with arched ceilings and frescoed from floor to ceiling. The paintings of course depict battles. The shape and atmosphere of the room reminded me of a much less ornate Hall of Maps at the Vatican Museum. You then make your way through various chambers and then descend to the Pantheon of Kings. The passageway down, in comparison to the others in cement and stone, is made of black marble and you enter this circular room. The room feels quite large because the ceiling is actually quite high. The walls are covered in marble again and the decorations are quite ornate. In this room are the coffins (in marble and bronze) of the monarchs on one side of the room and their wives on the other side of the room. There are two unmarked casket which will ultimately be used for the parents of the current monarch. From the Pantheon of Kings, you then move to the Pantheon of Princes which are nine chambers containing marble caskets of the various children of monarchs, one chamber particularly dedicated to the infants. The visit is supposed to end in the Basilica which was unfortunately closed for repairs although the bells were ringing loud and proud as I exited into the courtyard.
I then walked around the small town of San Lorenzo. You could easily see that it was Sunday as the families were out enjoying the fresh air, sunshine and beautiful scenery. The town in on a hilltop so the streets are definitely on an incline, many still in cobblestone. The feel of the town is still relatively modern in comparison to the medieval feel of Toledo. There are cafes spilling out into the streets and as I made my way around I realized that it was around 1:30 and therefore time to sit and have one last sangria. Then he came into view ... the mime. Yes Marcel Marceau himself was in San Lorenzo! This was your traditional mime with the beret, stripped black and white shirt and black pants. He targeted a table with three guys and pretended to take their photo ... aaaahhhh so glad it wasn't me.
I then returned to Madrid to finish out the day and visit the last of the sights I had chosen. Upon leaving the train station, I made my way to the Ibiza metro station and entered the El Retiro, a large park. There are pathways that wind their way through this large green space. It is Sunday and therefore friends and families have gathered to enjoy this beautiful park and the beautiful weather. I walked down the Paseo de Chile and came upon a large monument which then backs out onto a lake. The lake was buzzing with activity, filled with families laughing and enjoying time out on the small rowboats that were available for rent.
I continued my walk down some of the winding paths and made my way to the Palacio de Cristal. This is a building made almost entirely of wrought iron and glass and which dates back to 1880. It is an extension of a Madrid art museum and is often used for the exhibition of various pieces of art. At this particular time, the space was empty. There is a small lake in front of the Palacio with a small fountain in the middle and a number of ducks and swans enjoying being fed by the throngs of people just milling about.
As I was walking around the small paseos, I was reflecting on this trip and realizing that there was something missing in Madrid. It took me a while to realize that I had not quite found the personality of this city and its people. In Havana, you automatically feel transported to another time and place with the dilapitated buildings, the old fashioned cars, the smell of cigars wafting in the air and the warmth and charm of the Cuban people. In Bangkok, again the personality of the Thai people shines through the numerous street food stalls in which you can eat and drink out of a plastic bag, the incredible temples and Buddha images and again the warmth and charm of the Thai people. In having visited those two places, it was almost instantaneous attraction and recognition of their culture and personality.
I had not felt that kind of attraction yet through my short time in Madrid. And then I got a quick glimpse as I set foot on Paseo Salon del Estanque, a main walkway through the El Retiro. From here, you had a beautiful view of that central lake again still filled with rowboats going in all directions. There were throngs of people being entertained by the various street performers and buskers that lined this paseo. The first one that caught my eye was the man dressed in drag with a lemon yellow afro dancing to a latina beat. I then moved on to a Spiderman making balloon animals, a number of musicians, buskers entertaining the crowds, palm readers waiting to tell someone their fortune and the list goes on.
My last stop was at the Museo del Escultura al Aire Libre, located at the intersection of Castellana and Calle Juan Bravo where a bridge passes overhead. I was set on visiting this unusual museum because of the fact that the concept is completely unique, essentially the idea being that we should put this wasted space to good use and therefore is used as a mini art museum. Works of art were donated by a number of artists and are displayed in the open air. There are a small number of pieces and all are quite modern. There is also a striking waterfall/fountain which adds to the outdoors atmosphere and makes you forget that you are essentially directly underneath a bridge.
And that is where my quick tour of Madrid ended. I made my way back to the hotel to pack my suitcase, enjoy a last glass of Spanish wine in my room and reflect on my whirlwind in Madrid. I had a hint of sadness that I would be retiring my "abono turistico" and that I would not be a tourist for many more months to come. I quickly stopped myself though and thought about how grateful and fortunate I have been to have the opportunity in the first place and how proud of myself I am for doing this on my own. So where will it be next? That I do not know. What I do know is that this is only the beginning.
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