Spain with a detour to Egypt

---

So I have made it safe and sound to bella Madrid. It was a relatively uneventful flight. My one concern was that I had a short connection and I wanted to make sure that I would be checked in all the way through so that I wouldn't have to try and find a transfer desk with only a little over an hour for a connection.



The plane was late in leaving so if you have never seen Caroline run through an airport, this would have been the show for you. I got on the plane and they had already boarded most of the other passengers. Once I made it to the Frankfurt-Madrid flight, I knew that I was fine and that I would get here no problem. This is when I finally got some sleep and felt the stress of the last couple of weeks melt away.

I then made it to the hotel by subway, that is, three different subways. I had written out the route before so that I would have to fiddle around with the map or my guidebook. With 13 lines, it looks like a big puzzle. And when Caroline is jet-lagged, the comprehension level is not always there for the most basic of things. So I got myself a tourist card and I can ride the subway like there is no tomorrow, which I have pretty much done all day. At the subway stations, there were the usual musicians panhandling ... a pretty common site anywhere in the world. On the last subway to get to my hotel, there was actually a woman with a guitar belting out tunes while walking up and down the subway.

I have the cutest little hotel room. I feel like I am on a cruise ship with an interior room. My window doesn't really look onto anything so it makes it look like it is evening even at noon time. It'ss a little odd mind you but they make up for with the gaggle of toiletries ... I am set for life with Q-tips. The TV is a plasma screen and when I walked in it said Welcome Carolina Fournier ... yes my name was translated during the booking of my reservation. I am now Spanish apparently. It has a certain ring to it ... I may keep it.















So after a quick bath and unpacking the suitcases, I made my way to the Museo del Traje. That´s right, the clothing museum. It´s sounds a little odd but it´s basically the history of clothing, ranging from the changing styles like bustles, corsets to the different accessories over time like parasols, etc. Some of the items that they had dated back to the 1500´s.

It´s a pretty low key kind of place because the lighting is quite dim in order to preserve the clothing. But it starts in those very early periods and moves through the 1900's all the way to today. At the end there is a whole section dedicated to Balenciaga and other current designers like Dior, Christian Lacroix ... yes I saw a real Chanel suit. The only thing that kept me from touching it was that rather sour looking Spanish woman in the corner. The last section, you actually walk across a runway and the second you step on it the lights come on like flashbulbs/papparazi. It scared the crap out of me ...















One of the sights that was nearby was the Faro de Madrid which is this tall tower similar to the CN Tower that has this observation deck. I did not realize that it had been closed; apparently for security reasons. That was a shame.

So instead I made my way to the Teleferico de Madrid, which are cable cars that take you across this park-like area. The ride takes about 11 minutes with an audioguide in Spanish ... good thing I know that derecha means right and izquierda means left. When I heard that, I would just look out in that direction and you could easily figure out what he was talking about.














You essentially cross the gardens of the Royal Palace. You obviously get a great view of the Palace itself as well as the Almudena Cathedral and other major sites around there. You ultimately end up at Casa de Campo which is a large park, part of which is an amusement park. You could see a huge rollercoaster and hear people screaming their lungs out. Casa de Campo could be a very beautiful park with all of these winding paths, benches and beautiful views. The only problem is that it is so dried out, it´s not green it is hay coloured. Just very dry ... I guess the summer has been really hot and dry.









Once you return from the cable cars, you are close to Parque Oeste. That park is actually really beautiful, again with winding paths, palm trees and people just milling about. There was one guy juggling bottles. There was another street performer ... he or she scared the crap out of me (apparently the theme for the day). He or she was dressed like a tree, with branches, leaves ... the whole nine yards. He or she was also standing right beside a bunch of trees and would start moving their arms ... ahem branches ... when people walked by. I did not see him and all of a sudden I thought I was on the Wizard of Oz when the trees start talking to Dorothy. Europe has a lot of these street performers. I remember seeing a guy dressed up as the Statue of Liberty at Piazza Navona in Rome ... a little odd. Bottom line, I let out a bit of a scream that may or may not have attracted attention. Let's leave it at that and say that I am becoming my mother!



























So in this park is the Templo de Debod. This is an odd attraction. It is actually a true to life Egyptian temple. It was donated to Spain as a gift and moved literally block by block from Egypt. It was gifted as a thank you to Spain for having saved another Egyptian temple for destruction from flooding. Normally there are times that you can go and visit inside and I was there within those times but it was closed. It's actually a pretty simple structure but it is surrounded by this enormous reflecting pool that just surrounds it like a moat. I would have loved to see inside but I guess that it was not meant to be.





















So this is when jet lag and lack of sleep really hit me. By this time it was around 5 pm and my body just could not handle it anymore. It is also quite hot and humid, albeit somewhat grey. I made it back to the hotel and grabbed a couple of things from the grocery store across the street. I am on Gran Via and it is just nuts. It is a huge street with tons of shops and restaurants. So I will be having a glass of vino tinto in my room with a couple of chorizos and cheese and will be calling it a day. Tomorrow will be another day of exploring Madrid. I also have to explore the hotel a little bit, there is an amazing terrace on the 9th floor which looks on Gran Via

---