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Published: November 18th 2008
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(November 13th - 14th) Madrid! Well, the last time I was here I had the misfortune of being pick-pocketed and losing a chunk of cash as well as Caleb’s passport (I’m still sorry about that one). We spent a good portion of our trip explaining to the police, in Spanish, what had happened (thank you Brendan for translating). Then we spent another substantial amount of time at the US embassy getting a new passport. So needless to say I was a little wary arriving in Madrid again since we had left on bad terms. But this time Madrid renewed itself above and beyond and all is forgiven and forgotten.
Remembering the Metro from when I had come to Madrid last to visit my cousin Brendan as he was studying here (Side note: I promised him once I would visit him in every city he would ever live in, which has taken me to San Luis Obispo, Madrid, Boston and Chicago!), we hopped on as soon as we got off the train and headed for Sol. If you ever get to Madrid, I highly recommend the Hostal Adriano. Bright colorful rooms, comfy beds, free wifi, exceptional service, very inexpensive, and right
in the heart of Madrid with easy access to every other sight you might possibly want to see. We dropped off our bags and started to explore the open market and restaurants around our hostal. Right away we were able to accomplish the one shopping mission I have in each city/country we go to; the quest to retrieve a penny and a patch. In each country the pennies/1 cent euros are all different. So I’ve been determined to acquire one in each place we go as well as a patch of that city’s crest or the country’s flag. So far Brian has been the best at these missions and we’ve been successful in each place.
The first day in Madrid was spent doing two things; sleeping to recover from the train ride, and eating and drinking at our new favorite tapas restaurant, Taberna Malaspina. The tapas were incredibly inexpensive and delicious past my taste buds’ expectations! Brian had his first taste of sangria and instantly became hooked. We spent the evening practicing our Spanish and ordering plate after plate as we worked on our 2 liter jug of sangria. That night I was reintroduced to two sounds of Madrid I
had long forgotten, the music from the discotecas that goes on until 5AM and the honking of impatient cars trying to maneuver their way down tiny cobblestone streets. If someone is in their way, they honk. If someone has double parked, they honk until that person comes down. And if there is traffic where cars don’t believe there should be traffic, they honk. Ah Madrid!
The next day was our only day to explore Madrid before another long night train to Lisbon so we decided to metro to all the major sights of the city. We saw the palace, the bull-fighting arena (only the outside since our attempt to look like lost tourists and sneak inside for a peak failed), and my favorite by far, Retiro Park. A quick side note before I get into the splendor of Retiro Park. The Metro truly is the easiest way to get around Madrid so everyone takes it; young, old, students, tourists, and mothers with their babies. For some reason, every single time we went to get off the Metro and climb the stairs to our next location, there was a mother at the exact same time trying to climb the stairs
whilst carrying her stroller. At first when Brian offered to help, I thought it was sweet and thoughtful to help these young struggling mothers. After the 4th or 5th time I just laughed as soon as I saw a stroller waiting at the bottom of the stairs. It was if they KNEW he was coming. He helped every single one 😊
Back to Retiro Park. The last time I was here, all I remember was hurriedly walking through with Brendan avoiding the “hashish” sellers that stopped us every 30 feet. This time we were able to explore and see it for its true beauty. At the heart of Retiro is a huge palace-like structure at the end of a man-made lake. People rent rowboats and bask in the sun with the view of this fantastic structure. Brian and I decided neither of us wanted to row, so instead we went over to the waterfall and had a sun nap in the grass. It was one of those moments that shook me; we were in Madrid! A few days ago we were in Dublin and we’d already passed through Paris! I lay on Brian’s chest and sighed watching our held
hands go up and down as Brian breathed. This was all truly surreal. After a short snooze we walked through the rose gardens and onto the Crystal Palace, where Brendan either did perform his guitar symphony or just desired to perform it there. My memory is already going! The pictures speak for themselves, its phenomenal! Although we got lost in the park several times trying to find it, I’m most certainly glad that we got to see it.
That night we ate once again at Taberna Malaspina. And although I ordered the wrong tapas, twice. We lauged with the waitresses as Brian and I tried our best at speaking Spanish, enjoyed new tastes, and we even all took shots of Hierbas at the end of the meal before saying our goodbyes to our brief new friends. Madrid, you are forgiven.
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Brendan Byrnes
non-member comment
oh yeah...
It's all coming back to me. That was a great time (except for the passport incident). I'm so glad you are there again and sharing your experiences. It's a pretty magical place. If you were going to be there longer I should come visit you. I hope your travels continue to go well. Have a blast! Brendan